The Intrepid Alchemists: Sequel to FMAB
by noir2107
Summary: When Creta invades, the Elric children, Eliza, Edward Jr., and co. have no choice but to take fate into their own hands and save Amestris! Prince Kane of Creta, however, will do whatever it takes to please his father. Both sides have aims. But when love and political intrigues interfere, who will be left standing?
1. Shattered Life

***UPDATE (SEPT 28, 2013)* PLEASE READ: **This info does not apply to anyone who's read my story AFTER this update was made.

To all my older reader and followers: I've only changed the chapter titles and deleted some chapters, but the content and story of the chapters has not changed. So if you see that everything looks different, do not be alarmed. You are up to speed and none of the content/story has been changed. Please continue reading and thanks.

**Disclaimer: **

**This story is a continuation of events after the series end (of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood).**

**Hope you enjoy it. _Please give feedback, I accept ALL comments_.  
**

* * *

_Shattered Life_

* * *

Dad and Uncle Al could sit for hours, engrossed in their intellectual exchanges and debates-distant from all those around them. Dad would sprawl Liz over his lap, as he and Al went on about alchemy and all the discoveries Al had made. Eliza would sigh in awe, entranced by the vast sweltering deserts and immaculate palaces of the east. She dreamt of people that conversed in fluid, silky languages that were far beyond the scope of Resembool.

I, on the other hand, preferred the greasy comfort of being attuned to a fine piece of automail.

But dad would always listen intently to Al's reverie. As though he hoped that doing so would unleash him from the mundane of Resembool, perhaps to the far-off exoticism of some ancient land. It's not that he didn't love us or Resembool. He loved to traverse through the wavy grasses, feeling the soft breezes touch his face as he walked us to school every morning. But something was hidden from us-contained within the façade of being a parent and being normal. He would always lean on the railing of the porch, waving as we came back home from school. His eyes would always be distant and dream-like at first, as though he were sifting through the memories of days long past, longing for the turbulence of those days to carry him off again.

"Uncle Al! Show me alchemy!" Liz yelled excitedly.

I found myself nodding off, so I went to see what Mom was doing.

She wasn't in the kitchen or upstairs. But a light soft snore sounded from Uncle Al's room. I peeped my head in through the slightly open door. The moonlight fell on the shape of a petite woman with jet black hair, curled up under the sheets.

Aunt May.

A gentle hand squeezed my shoulder. Mom looked down at me smiling warmly, a finger to her lips signaling to be quiet.

We went down to the basement, which always had the distinct aroma of oil and metal. Liz said how she hated it, but my nose couldn't get enough. Shelves stacked high with shiny automail parts and tools lined the walls. Spread out on the other side of the room, was mom's work desk and operating table, where a blue print was laid out.

She pointed to the sketch on the blue print, "Help me do some tweaking on Dad's leg. I finished most of it, but I need you to test the screws."

I nodded eagerly.

She removed a long narrow box from one of the shelves, and put it on her work desk. Inside was an almost complete new leg model. Spring was coming, so dad wouldn't need the light, anti-freezing model anymore. The metal was cool silver, with many pulsing red and blue suspension cables coursing through it.

We went to work right away, tightening screws and finding screws that fit. We'd sit in silence, with only the clanking and scraping of metal between us. Sometimes, mom would observe me and point things out to improve on, but for the most part, she left me on my own.

Automail was mom's whole life. It was impossible not to envision her absorbed by the crispy sheen of a metal or the shapely notches of a screw. With persistent, capable hands she molded masterpiece after masterpiece, receiving requests from patrons as far as Rush Valley to deliver her most godly specimens of automail to them. Often, she'd vanish for three days of the week, vigorously fitting and crafting automail for her customers at Garfiel's shop. I wanted to go with her, but she would always insist not to miss school. After suffering for four days from Dad's mediocre cooking and down moods, she'd arrive back home in a bubbly, excited stupor. She'd float about the house spouting the details on the newest automail and people she'd met. Her hands always had blisters, and she felt embarrassed in the presence of other refined moms. But dad would always say how he loved them, and touch her hands to his face when he thought we couldn't see.

We jumped at the smashing of glass against the floor.

We ran upstairs, walking in just as Uncle Al was transmuting the broken bowl back together using Mom's favorite porcelain, automail arm figurine.

In a several flashes of blue light, the bowl mended itself, returning to its previous concave shape.

"And that's how you—Whoa!" He ducked as a wrench aimed for his head missed and ricocheted off Dad's instead.

Liz slinked away from Al, as mom stood menacingly with her hands on her hips, "Garfiel gave that to me as a Christmas present! It's only your first night back and things are broken already?" Mom sighed.

"Al-sama! Are you alright?" Aunt May's shrill shriek shook the room. She ran downstairs and caressed Uncle Al's head, giving mom a cynical glare.

Dad groaned, holding his head in pain, "He wasn't the one who got injured…"

Suddenly, a panicked rap shook the door.

The air became thick with tension, as Uncle Al and dad lithely surrounded the door.

After exchanging approving looks between one another, dad asked, "Who is it?"

A strangled cry materialized from the other side, "Please help! My son and husband, they—"

Dad opened the door, revealing our neighbor, Tim's mom, Mrs. Stockwell. Tim, Liz, and I were all best friends.

There was no trace of the older woman's usual cheerfulness. Her face was pale and white as snow, with red eyes that had a wild, dazed look in them. Her lips quivered, holding back a sob that distorted her words.

"The car drove off the main road, and my son! The blood!" She fell on her knees in the doorway. Sobs rippled from her trembling body, as she lifted her hand for us to see….her fingers stained with crimson.

"Alfonse, the road! Let's go! Don't worry Mrs. Stockwell." Dad and Al sprinted past Mrs. Stockwell, fading into the blackness of the night.

"Winry, I'm going to follow them. They may need my medical skills. " May said, about to leave too.

"Don't forget a lantern. Grab the one off the porch." Mom said.

May leaned before Mrs. Stockwell, and softly squeezed the woman's shoulder before grabbing the lantern and embarking off into the night.

Mrs. Stockwell remained prostrated and sobbing in the doorway. Mom gently helped her up, guiding her to the kitchen.

"Liz, Ed, close the door and stay inside." Mom said.

In a moment, everyone had disappeared. The door was still open in the wake of all the commotion, and even though I knew mom would disapprove of it, I wanted to slip through and go to the main road. Dad, Uncle Al, and Aunt May were out there, doing everything they could. And somewhere, in some unknown condition, Tim and his dad were out there too. A morbid curiosity broiled deep within my bones, devilish and dark, prompting me from where I stood to the black unknown that lingered outside. My mind told me I should say inside, listen to mom. What was out there was probably something I did not want to see.

"Liz, stay here." I whispered, walking towards the door.

Her firm, small hand latched onto me, "But Ed, mom said—"

I pulled away, "I'll come right back. Don't tell mom."

* * *

The main road was straight with trees on both sides. But at one part, a sharp narrow bend coiled around, accented by two monstrous trees…and this was the site of the accident.

A ghastly mechanical humming filled the space, a sporadic tune. My eyes could hardly see, with only the stars casting an eerie light. From the small glow of May's lantern, I could make out dad, Al, and May, positioned a few yards away from the toppled car. The vehicle looked like it'd been through a mechanical grater. The glass windows were broken, and the siding bore gigantic dents. The pungent stench of gasoline and burnt metal clung to the air.

Sticking out from the cluttered heap of a car, my eyes fixed on a gory sight…a bloody arm splayed out from the wreckage, attached to the barely imperceptible, crushed remains of a man. My stomach churned queasily as I realized what it was. Vomit crawled into the back of my throat; I swear I could have thrown up right then and there.

When dad saw me he paused for a moment, eyes widening in surprise. He ran to me and grabbed me by the shoulders, the frantic look in his eyes causing shivers to rattle through me.

"Where's your mother?"

I was still in a daze, frozen by the arm, the hand reaching up into the heavens…

He shook me again, "Ed." When he saw what I was looking at, he grimaced and turned himself to block my view.

"Where's Tim?" I whispered.

"Tim's okay. Just head back home and everything will be okay." Dad insisted.

In the distance, May and Al were whispering to each other in quick voices, hovering over something. May had formed a transmutation circle around it, and in that instant, an ethereal light purged the surrounding darkness, engulfing the lifeless body of a boy with darkened emerald eyes and bronze skin.

Tim! I pushed past dad running to him.

Tim was alive. He had escaped the destruction unscathed…but, I immediately took back those words when I beheld the boy soiled in dirt, oil, and scrapes—the wounds flaring red on his skin. A stream of blood went from his forehead to his jaw. His face was pale and sweaty, contorted in anguish.

He stared up at me through downcast lids, "Is it still there? I…can't feel…"

"Stay still, everything will be okay." May said as she stroked his shoulder, and Uncle Al performed a second round of a healing transmutation.

My eyes surveyed his body to see what he was talking about. Everything seemed whole, but then my eyes fell on his lower half.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Tim asked.

I froze, unable to fill the ensuing silence with anything. What was I going to tell him? How could I possibly answer him? Tears began welling up in my eyes.


	2. Denial and Nostalgia

**Disclaimer: **

**The story is set approximately 12 years after the conclusion of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Currently, Ed Jr., Eliza, and Tim are 8 years old (and in 4th grade). **

**If you wish to know about my calculations, just message me.**

**Thank you so much to the people who have reviewed and read this story! I appreciate your support! ^_^**

_**Please give feedback, I accept ALL comments**_**. I will update weekly if this story receives at least one review. Thanks & Read On...**

* * *

_Denial and Nostalgia_

* * *

He sat there, unmoving, in the living room chair.

Mom bent over him, a bowl of stew in her hand, "Tim, I made my beef stew tonight. Do you want some?" Tim didn't reply, his eyes downcast, staring at the swollen, bandaged stubs. In the shadow of his face, his eyes appeared like dark, hollow holes, seeing into nothingness.

Dad nudged mom gently, "Just let him have some time to himself, Winry."

"I know, Ed...Trust me." She disappeared into the kitchen with May.

Eliza sat beside the window in the living room, staring outside into the night as a light drizzle began. Dad, Uncle Al, and I were on the couch, eyes dodging between Tim and Mrs. Stockwell in the kitchen.

A heavy silence filled the room, and everyone was frozen.

I didn't know what I felt really. Tim and I knew each other, but we weren't that close. My mouth was poised to say something, form some expression of reassurance, but nothing came out. Would I pity him? Tell him, "I'm sorry your Dad's gone," or "I'm sorry for what happened?"

Really, I didn't understand at all, did I? I didn't understand the extent of his pain: how it felt to see his own father's form crushed beneath jagged pounds of steel. Or how it felt to have both legs severed from his body. But also, I didn't say anything because I hated when people felt sorry for me. I'm sure Eliza was trying to think of something too, but she kept staring out the window.

Mrs. Stockwell sat slumped over at the kitchen table. She hadn't touched her tea since mom had made it. She stared into the cloudy hazel liquid, the shadows on its surface like dancing apparitions.

May was sitting beside her, a warm hand on her shoulder, "Mrs. Stockwell, you should have some tea or food."

"No. There's no point anymore…" She sighed.

"May's right. You should-" Mom began, but Mrs. Stockwell shot up from her seat and screamed at them.

"I said NO! …My husband's gone…look at my son. You people think you understand…but you don't!"

May shrunk away, but mom reddened angrily, "If we don't understand, then why did you come to us?"

She fell quiet. After a few moments of silence, mom asked again, "Answer me! Why?"

Mrs. Stockwell crumpled, weeping and muttering indecipherably, "I'm sorry…forgive me…"

"Don't be so harsh on her, Winry," Uncle Al scolded as he joined them.

A cacophony of sounds arose from the kitchen, as mom and uncle argued, and May consoled the grieving Mrs. Stockwell. But the living room was unchanged. Tim was still hunched over, unreachable, and all of us—Eliza, dad, and I—remained frozen too.

Torrents of rain continued to rattle house. The occasional strikes of lightening would startle Eliza, and she'd flank to dad's side, obscuring herself under his arm. Eventually, Mrs. Stockwell's sobs lessened into a whimpering moan.

Once the storm became more mild, she and Tim went back home. Dad and Uncle Al helped carry Tim, and May and mom forced us to get ready for bed, even though mom said we wouldn't have to go to school tomorrow.

"How did dad lose his leg?" Eliza asked, as mom tucked us into our beds.

She paused for a second, like she was never expecting to be asked that question. Or perhaps, she thought she'd have more time to find a gentler reply…that we'd ask when we were older, more experienced. Instead, she gave us a small smile and kissed our foreheads.

"One day, you'll both know. But right now, just focus on school and being kids.

* * *

Tim was missing from class.

The only time I had seen him was at his father's funeral. He was sitting in a wheel-chair, his back facing me as he somberly looked at the closed coffin. For the sake of remembrance, the family thought it would be better to conceal him. Mrs. Stockwell had invited some Ishvalan relatives from her husband's family. Apparently her husband had been half-Ishvalan, which explained Tim's bronze skin. We all wore black: the women in black dresses and the men in tall black suits.

He said nothing to me or my family, even though his mom had invited us. She herself exchanged a few words of gratitude with mom and dad, but soon after maintained a distance with her son.

The sun receded below the horizon. Dad draped his jacket over mom as she shivered slightly in the chilly, spring air. Everyone wrapped their arms around themselves. Eliza stood next to me.

"Do you think he'll ever come back to school?" She asked.

I strained my eyes at the departing sun, the stark red hues staining the sky. A week ago, Tim had been laughing and joking on the playground. Now, he was an enigma to all.

"I don't know, Eliza."

After the funeral service, we tried to talk to him. While dad and the others talked to Mrs. Stockwell and her family, we approached him. He was sitting in his wheel-chair, looking on as the men slowly descended his father's coffin into the hollow pit. He didn't look at us. His mouth was drawn into a frown with dark eyes that were somewhat scornful.

"Tim, um…are you coming back to school? Everyone's worried, they're wondering if you're okay." Eliza uttered nervously.

"Yeah, they want you to place bets like you used to." I tried to sound cheery.

The pant legs of his navy suit dangled off the chair, fluttering in the wind. Tim looked at Eliza, but his eyes narrowed scathingly at her. She cringed under the weight of his glare.

"Do I look okay to you? Will I ever look okay?"

"I'm sorry, I just meant-" He cut her off before she could finish.

"I don't care what you meant. You have two legs. You can walk, right? You'll never be able to understand, so stop wasting my time." He swiveled the chair around and began moving away from us.

That's when I thought of dad and his automail leg.

"Have you ever heard of automail?"

He stopped abruptly and jeered, "My dad said that automail belongs to freaks. That's why your parents are freaks."

So this was his solution, huh? Throw all hope away for some convoluted sense of superiority? His words made me want to punch him in the face. Maybe I could make it ugly enough to match the grotesque inside. There was nothing wrong with automail. My family had saved him. If it wasn't for them, he would've been joining his dad in the coffin.

"You can't do anything! You're just a whiny brat that wants everyone to feel sorry for you!" I yelled. He clenched his fists, face twisted in melancholy and anger.

"Just leave me alone! I hate you both! I hate you!"

Shortly after the funeral, Dad, Uncle Al, and May left to do an assignment in Central. Though mom complained about dad's absences from time to time, she knew it was only for the best. Dad could get pretty sick of Resembool sometimes, it was like he needed a break from the monotony. And despite mom's protests and worrying, I knew she always liked the break too.

* * *

**A Week Later**

Sparks flashed and jumped, their shadows dancing tauntingly upon the walls. A smile burst on Liz's face as her newest creation was about to be born. From the transmutation circle on the wooden floorboards, arose a small creature. In the bath of light, her hands flitted about it purposefully, giving it shape and definition. When the light faded and she removed her hands, it was no longer just a stub of wood, but the detailed sculpture of a bird. It had a small beak, feathers, and eyes, but it was missing a wing.

"You suck. That's what you invited me to see?" I whined.

I had been working on Dad's new automail leg, when Liz called me up to show off her alchemy. Strewn all over the floor of Dad's study were alchemy and science books. Just looking at the diagrams and text gave me a headache.

She got a little teary-eyed, "You don't like it?"

I shrugged, "I didn't say it's bad. But it's just a bird. Now, if you want to do something really cool, make it fly…or make lightening!"

She pouted, "It's impossible to make it fly."

The door to Dad's study burst open, and mom emerged with our coats, "Kids, we're going to pay a visit to Grandma and Grandpa."

"Mommy, look at the bird." Liz pointed cheerily.

Mom smiled but replied slowly, "Honey, don't you want to do anything else besides alchemy? Alchemy isn't safe. It's gotten your Dad into all sorts of trouble."

"Yeah Liz, you should quit alchemy. You can't even make a bird with two wings." I laughed at her.

She frowned, and I know I shouldn't have said that, but I said it anyway. Maybe it was because I was jealous. Whenever she did alchemy, Dad's eyes would light up. They never lit up like that for me. But I knew how Mom felt about alchemy. I saw the sadness in her face whenever she worked on Dad's leg.

Mom shook her head at me, "That's not what I meant, Ed. Liz, your bird is very beautiful. I love it, and I love you."

...

Mom placed flowers on the graves of Trisha Elric and Van Hohenheim. As we stared in silence, the once clear blue sky suddenly became cloudy. As the clouds passed over, their shadows seemed to engulf us, strangling the light from reach.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tim in his wheelchair by his Father's grave.

Mom gave a small smile, "I have to go visit Mrs. Stockwell down the road for a second. Why don't you two stay here and cheer up our friend there?"

Liz nodded, but mom could see the hesitance on my face. She gave me another look, as if to say, "Just try!"

Liz and I walked over to him. Even though we said hi and were standing at his side, he didn't look at us. His eyes stared straight ahead, at the gravestone.

He muttered, "I wish I could bring him back."

Then, he turned to us, "Oh look, it's the freaks. What are you doing here?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh I don't know—I mean it's not like this is a public place or anything."

Whenever I saw him, I clenched my fists. I'd never forget the way he sneered at us when we last saw him. But whenever I saw the pant legs dangling off his wheelchair, I imagined what it would be like for him to have automail legs.

"Can you bring people back to life with alchemy, Eliza?" He asked nonchalantly.

A woman's voice suddenly spoke behind us, "Trust me, many have tried, and all have failed. Including their Father, Edward Elric."

She was clad in a brown ragged cloak. Her face was eclipsed from view by shadows. But strands of her fiery red hair fell out of the cloak's hood. A ray of white sunlight escaped from the clouds just then, and fell upon the black crystal pendant at her neck.

"Who are you?" Liz asked. "Yeah, who asked you?" Tim added smugly.

The lady reminded me of the witches in the fairy tales where the princesses either got kidnapped or poisoned into deep sleep. Or that other story…you know, the one where the witch lures the hungry children into her house with sweets, then bakes them into a meal and has them for supper. How grown ups got away with telling these violent and psychotic stories to children, I'll never know.

"Uh, we don't want any apples! And we don't taste very good!" I yelled.

They all looked at me like I was weird, but then the woman laughed, "Trust me, I'm not here to eat you. On the contrary, I have a message for all of you."

Suddenly, everything faded into white mist. The cemetery disappeared in a blinding flash of light. I covered my eyes, but when I opened them, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

We were standing on the outside deck of an airship, like the ones I had heard about—that carried goods and people between Xing and Amestris. But I never imagined I'd actually be on one! The moment of euphoria was short-lived however, as the cloaked woman stepped towards the railing and beckoned us forward.

The gray skies overhead were filled with smoke. Below us, a city and the surrounding lands were being consumed in flame. The land seemed to pulse and swell in the red heat. Amidst the chaos, the audible screams of men, women, and children alike also engulfed the land. What appeared to be another airship in the distance, dropped black pellet-like objects onto the city. The objects exploded upon impact, engulfing the city in more flames.

Somehow, it was like we were suspended in the clouds yet standing on solid ground still, observing the scene below.

"Where is this place?" Tim asked.

"Here is my message to you. In ten years time, Amestris will fall to conquerors and flame. Only the three chosen ones can rise to save her, and reverse what has been done. Until that day comes, be strong and move forward. I will see you all again one day." The woman's voice echoed.

...

"Ed! Liz! Tim! Wake up! WAKE UP!" Mom yelled, and suddenly I felt someone shaking me. I was struggling to open my eyes. I still felt like I was still floating in the dream…but then, I felt something wet touch my cheek.

I opened my eyes, and saw that we were still outside in the cemetery. Mom hovered over me, her eyes worried and filled with tears. My head throbbed as she helped me sit up. I looked around and saw that Tom and Liz were just waking up too. When did we pass out?

"I'm so happy you're both awake. We have to get all of you to a doctor." Mom hugged us.

"Wait. Didn't you see it?" I blinked.

"See what dear?" Mrs. Stockwell asked, holding Tim's wheelchair.

"We were floating in the clouds, and this lady…" Liz trailed off when she saw the grown ups' puzzled faces.

"You must've been hallucinating. Maybe they're dehydrated. We need to get them to a doctor. I have something in my purse over there. Winry come with me." They left for a few short moments.

Tim turned to us, "Guys, let's keep this a secret."

"But—" I said.

"No buts. They won't believe us. Besides, it was only meant for us, right? If we tell them, we might get in trouble." Tim's words of advice seemed like a good idea at the time…

From that day onward, we made a pact to never tell anyone about what we saw that day. We rarely talked about it amongst ourselves. Afterward, the days passed slowly at first, but then time resumed its steady and unyielding flow. As we each forged our own separate paths, the occurrence of that day was forgotten like another passing dream. But destiny is a strange thing…


	3. 10 Years Later

_10 Years Later (Eliza's POV)_

* * *

"Can you hand me that pencil over there?" I asked the girl sitting next to me.

I was 18 years old, and it was my first year of college. I attended the University of Dublith and was a science major in Alkhestry and Alchemy. The halls were brimming with young students. But I had to apply twice to get in.

It probably helped a little that my uncle was the well-known Alfonse Elric of the prestigious Central University, in Central. I was also the daughter of the Fullmetal Alchemist. But Dad was surprisingly lesser known—since the fight with Father and the homunculi was not publicly known or in history books.

What was in history books was that Fuhrer Bradley's health had led him to make decisions that jeopardized the country. Because of this, he unwillingly passed power over to General Grumman and resigned, dying shortly after. Dad wasn't annoyed by this. He isn't one for the spotlight really. And most nations lie about their history anyway. History is written to benefit those in power, not tell the whole truth.

Other than that, I was like every other impoverished college student: surviving on multiple scholarships and government money. Mom and Dad were kind enough to send me a little bit of spending money, and often paid me random visits. Mom joked about finding me with a boyfriend one of these days, even though I had none.

Today was my science exam in Elemental Alchemy. We had to transmute a given material into a new, restructured form.

The girl sitting next to me kept eyeing my paper. It looked like she was having trouble drawing the transmutation circle. I shielded my paper defensively, but she was close enough to me that it didn't matter. She yawned and leaned back in her chair, pretending to stretch. But I knew what she was doing. The professor was distracted as usual when things like this occurred. I huddled over my paper and whispered low, "Stop looking."

"Come on, I just need one little thing. You always do so well, why can't you help me?" She was so good at whining.

"This isn't helping Reina, it's cheating."

Suddenly, the professor's voice boomed across the room of 30 people, "YOU THERE! PUT DOWN YOUR PAPER."

I smirked. _Finally, she's caught. Now that'll stop the harassment for good. _I waited for her to get up and take the walk of shame down the aisle.

"Did you hear me, Miss Elric? You know the rules! Anyone caught cheating has to leave immediately. Leave your paper on my desk." The professor repeated.

He seemed too young to be a professor. I forgot his name, but I had heard about him from other students. He was cocky to anyone who was not a senior. I regretted taking a class with him. I regretted thinking he was cute when I met him at the University Orientation.

"But professor! I didn't cheat! Reina was looking at my paper, and I was trying to tell her—"

"Excuses, excuses. Just put your paper on my desk. Now."

I wanted to shout at him, "You're an asshole. She was clearly looking at my paper. Are you blind?" But I didn't. I didn't look at the other classmates as I walked past. I just wanted to leave.

It was a cool Spring day outside. April was right around the corner. It was surprisingly warm and dry for that time of year. The campus was bustling with students. Some were rushing to class. Others were sitting on the benches and the stone steps around main campus, chattering away. The sun warmed my skin. I didn't know what to do so I kept walking around main campus. I had a small apartment off-campus, next to the Dublith train station.

I thought about visiting Izumi. She was dad's old teacher and still lived in Dublith. Sometimes, when I stopped by she'd give me tea and cookies. I heard she was really brutal to Dad and Uncle Al growing up, but I just couldn't see it in her.

I was about the walk down the campus steps when I slipped. I felt myself about the fall, but a pair of strong arms caught me and steadied me so I caught my footing. I was about to apologize when I looked up and saw Tim!

I hadn't seen him in three years. When I last saw him we were all 15 and in high school. But during freshman year of high school, he and his mother moved to Ishval. Before that, he would always hang out at our house and we were good friends. Ed, my brother, always did the maintenance on his automail legs. Tim harbored a lot of anger in the past, but eventually he became our friend.

The person I saw before me was not the short boy I had known. He was tall, at least 6'0 feet. His skin was golden bronze, and he had the lean muscular body of a young man. Still the same white spiky hair. Kind, but piercing red eyes. He smiled at me warmly.

"Liz, long time no see! You look great! How's your brother and everyone doing?" I noticed he was wearing sweats that had the logo, _Amestrian Armed Forces._

He caught me eyeing his clothing and replied, "I learned swordsmanship in Ishval, but now I'm going to join the military. My family didn't approve, but I'm not going to college. The military pays more too."

"That's great! Everyone's doing well as usual. But Ed is everywhere. Last I heard he was up at Briggs in their Automail Dept. He works on all kinds of machines now though. What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, the sound of a whistle rang through the air.

"Well, that's the warning whistle, I have to go. We should meet up sometime. What's your number?"

I took some paper from my notebook and scrawled my number. He slipped the paper into his duffle bag and grinned, "See you soon. Tell your bro that he has to work on my legs sometime."

We exchanged farewells and he ran in the opposite direction of me, further into main campus. It was nice to see a familiar face on campus. I didn't have many friends, and the ones I did have were not close.

I sighed and thought of seeing Mom and Dad again. I hadn't seen Ed in a while either. I curled a loose strand of my yellow blonde hair around my fingers. Sometimes I felt like hiding in my room and not coming out. I felt like an alien here sometimes. I wanted to go home. But at the same time, I wanted to be Alchemic Scientist too.

A student was walking across campus with a radio. Muffled voices emerged from the static cacophony.

"Clashes once again on the Amestrian border."

Cars down the street honked loudly, and more static.

"Fuhrer Grumman released this statement today, 'There is nothing to be concerned about. Amestrian forces are containing the violence at the border.' The Fuhrer did not remark further due to the time constraints of this interview."

The student got tired of listening to the news, and turned on some Rock music.

I got tired of campus and took the subway home. By the time I trekked up the stairs to my apartment, it was 5 o' clock and the light of day was dwindling. I opened the door. The apartment was quiet as usual. It was a one-bedroom, with a kitchen and living room in one room, and the bedroom in the other. The living room was sparse, with only a couch, radio, and some pictures of family on a cork-board. I walked up the cork board and stared at a picture of Mom, Dad, and Uncle Al when they were little kids.

Suddenly, a voice startled me, "You're not going to show me around your apartment?"

I looked around the corner near the kitchen, and saw my brother, Ed. He was sitting at the kitchen table expectantly. I hadn't seen him in almost six months. My heart raced, as I half-smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"How the hell did you get in here?"

"Didn't Mom tell you? I can break into anything these days." He smirked.

He was taller than me, his golden blonde hair in a ponytail down his back. He was similar in build to Tim, with lean muscle. But his hands were stronger and more worn from work.

"We have so many things to talk about." I said excitedly, waving him over to the couch to sit.

"That's one of the reasons why I'm here. There's a lot going on that we need to talk about."

"How was Briggs? How's General Armstrong doing? Did she drive you crazy?"

"Haha, no…she wasn't that harsh. It was cold as usual. I learned some new tricks with reinforcing cold weather limbs. But I talked to a lot of Briggs soldiers who have comrades at the southern border, and—"

"You must be thirsty. Give me a minute. I'll go make some tea." I was rushing around like some excited, hyper child. I was so happy to see him, but the expression on his face was troubled.

Suddenly, he grabbed my hands and held them in his. He looked me straight in the eyes.

"Liz, please just sit down and listen to me for second. Please." His voice was deeper than I had remembered it.

I sat down, and put the tea on hold. He was anxious, but didn't talk for a while even after I sat down. The silence was unnerving. I wondered what was bothering him. Then, he began telling me the news.

Many of his friends in Briggs had military connections in the South, specifically by the Southern border of Amestris.

On the radio, there had been news about the clashes at the Southern border. But clashes weren't new. Creta and Amestris had always been unfriendly neighbors. Though business in the South was going downhill, the economy was doing well in general.

But Ed tried to convince me otherwise. He'd heard from his friends that people were evacuating South City. Some people were heading for Dublith, for Northern cities, or just out of the country. He claimed that his friends had already sent their families abroad. I wondered who his friends were.

"Cretian forces have a new kind of technology. There's rumors about airships that rain fire like General Mustang." He said.

He told me that Creta could wage a full-scale war against Amestris. We had to leave while we still had the chance. The room was quiet for a while after he said all this. I thought he was crazy, I didn't know how to reply.

I tried to grasp at the images of that long-ago dream, of all of us standing on the airship. But it seemed like a dream. None of the signs in the vision had come true. There was no war. There was no divine destiny. But there were responsibilities. I had school. What did my brother have? He was the lucky one, gifted enough with automail to be able to travel anywhere and set his own wages. Alchemists weren't that lucky. Scientists specifically, needed credentials before anyone hired them. He was so insensitive. It was hard enough just living alone in Dublith.

"You only came here to talk to me about this?" I asked.

"Sis, you don't get it. We need to start preparing."

"Don't you think your friends up at Briggs are a little crazy from the cold?"

"They have credible sources. Things are heating up in South City. Didn't you see a lot of foreigners at the train station and all over the city?"

"There's always foreigners. It's Dublith." I argued.

"But that doesn't explain why the government is censoring the press to hide worsening conditions."

Suddenly, the phone rang across the room. I got up and picked it up. "Hello…oh hey Tim! What's up?"

Ed had a surprised look on his face but I ignored him and kept talking.

"You're at the Ishvalan café a block away from the train station? Sure, I'll meet you there…okay. See you soon." I hung up the phone, and grabbed my jacket from the couch.

"Tim's here in Dublith too? That's great." Ed got up and fetched his coat excitedly. But when he saw the look on my face, he paused.

"If you're going to talk about politics, then don't come. We haven't seen him in a while, so don't frighten him with your war prophecies."

Less than one month later, South City was overwhelmed by Cretian forces. Planes rained bombs over the city for a week, before the city finally surrendered. It was said that these bombs were so incendiary that when they exploded, they swallowed whole buildings up in flames.

At the time though, we didn't know all this. Everyone thought that things were okay in general. Everyone thought that the Amestrian military could stop them. No one said they were coming.

But one day, everything just fell apart. Society, money, the whole system fell apart…and that's when we knew. Amestrian forces had lost.

The Cretian forces were coming for Dublith.


	4. Get Out of Dublith!

_**Please Review if you're still reading. A story-teller's motivation is lost when they have no one to tell a story to. Thanks for reading, if you're still reading. And REVIEW.**  
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_Get Out of Dublith!  
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Because of the conflict in the south, shipping transports had stopped. Grocery stores were empty or had very little stocked, so prices went up. People went to the bank to take out money, but were turned away. The bank could only give out so much. Whole life savings vanished into thin air. This was only the first week.

Students began leaving Dublith University. They headed North with their families toward Central, New Optain, North City, and West City. Even Izumi and her husband left for North City. I wanted to stay and complete my first year of college. But the campus was growing empty. Professors were disappearing, and the classrooms were becoming ghost towns.

It was as if time itself had shifted, whole lives had shifted…as people fled north for a foreign city, abandoning their homes. The streets were cluttered with heaps of trash and other abandoned possessions: a doll trampled into the side walk, clothes…

Sometimes you could find wagonfuls of stuff just left by the street. There were abandoned cars too. Some cars doors were wide open, others locked. The streets looked like flowing rivers of people, all heading north on-foot. Looters and drugees plagued the streets, and there were too few police forces out, since many people had fled.

That morning, I woke up to blaring sirens going off throughout the city. I looked out my window to see a guy across the street smashing a chair through a store front window. Then, there was pounding at the door. I got out of bed and raced for the door, pulling the sheets around me for cover.

"Who is it?" I yelled.

"It's me, Ed. Tim's with me too." I opened the door and they walked in quickly, shutting the door behind them, frantic nervous expressions on their faces.

"Ed? I thought you were at work. What's going on? There's people in the street yelling, and crowds of people…"

"People are getting out of Dublith before the Cretians come. And trust me, they're coming. We've got to get out of here. Get dressed. We're going to the train station." Ed said.

I nodded, taking in the serious expression on his face. I ran to the bedroom to get dressed. I brushed my teeth and washed my face. It felt like any other ordinary day, but I knew it was different somehow. I felt it in the tension in the air, in this new dark cloud lingering over Dublith.

"Any news from mom and dad?" I asked. I grabbed a khaki trench coat from my closet, stuffed some gold jewelry mom had given me into my pocket, and slipped my wallet into the trench coat pocket.

Suddenly, the phone in my bedroom rang. I grabbed it. "Hello?"

I heard a relieved sigh followed by murmurs in the background. Mom's voice rang out, "I'm so glad you're okay. We were getting worried. You need to get out of the city! You and Ed! Before the Cretians get there!" Mom yelled through the phone.

"I know. Don't worry mom, we're getting ready to go to the train station now." I tried to make my voice sound as calm as possible, but my fingers were trembling. I didn't know what was happening. Would I ever return to Dublith?

"Good. Go quickly!" I heard some jumbling in the background, and Dad's voice rang through the phone.

"We already pre-ordered tickets for you and Ed. You can't wait. People are saying that the army is about two days away from Dublith."

Outside, were the sounds of more windows smashing and people yelling. The yelling was getting closer to my apartment building. A car alarm went off and wouldn't stop: Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Come on, Liz! We have to leave now!" Ed yelled, banging on the bedroom door.

"Dad, I have to go. Don't worry, we'll be okay. We're leaving now…alright, I love you too. Bye." I hanged up the phone and sped out.

Tim was standing at the open doorway, keeping watch. I was on the 12th floor, the highest floor. There were only stairs.

We were about the rush out, when some yelling and shouting on the lower floors stopped us. "Give it to me! Now!" Tim, Ed, and I, peered through the maze of stairs all the way below.

"Please, that's all we have. We don't have any more. Please, Spare us." A woman pleaded.

I recognized her voice. She was my neighbor. I had seen her every day, and I used to go shopping with her sister. They were the nicest people in the building. One of the thugs took out a gun and shot her sister in the stomach two times. Her sister fell and writhed on the floor in a pool of blood, moaning in pain.

"Where are the drugs?" A gang of four thugs surrounded them.

I took out a piece of chalk to write a transmutation on the floor, but Ed tugged on my jacket, "The train is leaving in 15 minutes, we have to go." He pointed to the fire escape in the apartment.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tim grab a brick and throw it down below. We could hear the crack as it hit one of the men in the head and he went down. The others looked up, startled and shocked.

"You crackheads want some drugs? Come get some!" Tim yelled. Ed looked at him like he was crazy.

"You're going to pay for that! Let's get them!"

"Okay everyone, fire escape!" Ed said, rushing back inside the apartment.

The neighbor woman nodded in thanks as we ran. We locked the front door and went to the patio, revealing the rusty fire escape below.

As I started climbing down, two of the rusty bars gave out. Ed cringed at the sight, "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Just come on." I said.

"Yeah come on man. On second thought, I'll go before you. That way I can catch you if you fall."

"Really, you'd do that?"

Tim shrugged, "Yeah, I'll try my best."

"What the hell does that mean? It's either you catch me or I die!"

"Relax. Of course I'll catch you." Tim looked down to me through the bars and mouthed, "He's not going to make it."

Ed began to descend. Just then I heard loud pounding on the apartment door above. Ed quickened his pace down the ladder, and we followed suit. By the time, our assailants made it inside, we were on the street below and running for the train station.

I'd never felt such an exhilarating feeling in my life. I was so scared, yet felt safe beside the people I knew. I wondered how others were dealing with the crisis, or if they had even made it out alive.

The streets were practically deserted. But as we neared the train station, crowds of people emerged, huddled in groups outside the station. Fires burned in large metal tins, the black smoke rising into the sky.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, but the train is severely delayed. There will probably be a train tomorrow." The man at the ticket booth sighed, and quickly shooed us away.

The train station was so packed that there was nowhere to sit. A man near us murmured, "That's what he said yesterday. No train will save us. The Cretian Army is coming."

A baby's cry rang out. Everyone else who heard the man looked helpless and exhausted. In a corner, a woman lit candles and began prayer. Tim and I went to look for some seating, while Ed searched for alternative options...

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	5. A Great Power

**DISCLAIMER: Please review. A story teller loses their motivation if there's no one to tell a story to. Thanks for reading again. AND PLEASE REVIEW!**_  
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_A Great Power_

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A woman next to me began sobbing. I put my hand on her shoulder, but she jolted away from me. "My husband left with my eldest son on-foot. But I stayed to help my mother. She was old."

"Where's your mother, then?" I asked, seeing no one nearby. Her shoulders shuddered at the question, and she didn't reply. I suppose there are things that words cannot say.

I sat on the bench waiting for something to happen. But all around me people murmured in low voices, heads lowered. Others leaned against the cool stone walls and slept. Some children played along the boardwalk, their giggles rising up and then fading into echoes.

I felt my eyes slowly closing, as though being pulled by some invisible weight. And soon…darkness.

_Sophrano voices, beautiful high-pitched notes…beckoned me forward. I opened my eyes. I was in a beautiful cathedral. It was warm and lit up with sunlight. _

_The glass windows had colorful figures on them. One had a picture of a man standing atop a tall mountain, holding up a crystal to the sky. A giant celestial figure looked down upon him from the clouds, casting the sunlight upon his small, miniscule frame. _

_I was standing in the aisle that led to the altar. Standing at the altar, was a woman with bright green eyes and wild red hair. At her left and right side, stood long lines of people in hooded red robes._

"_Come forward, young one." The woman said, warmly. I swear I had seen that red hair before. _

_She smiled at me and held her hands out, offering something, "You've grown up so much. Take this. It belongs to you."_

"_Um, no offense but where am I?" _

"_Just take it." She said, pushing it toward me. They were white gloves with yellow transmutation circles on the palms. They reminded me of General Mustang's gloves, the ones that were now in the state alchemist museum._

_I put them on, but nothing happened. I looked at the woman, but she replied, "I've given you a great power. But you need to learn how to use it on your own."_

* * *

"Liz, wake up." I felt someone nudging me. Tim. We walked through the masses of people to an empty employee office hidden from view. From there, we ended up in a back alley behind the train station. We weaved through the narrow streets, walking quickly.

"Your brother found someone with an airship. We're taking it out of here." Tim held my hand while we walked, but he didn't seem to notice. For some reason, I felt both comforted and embarrassed by this. We kept walking for a long time, but I didn't see Ed anywhere.

"Where's Ed?" I whispered.

Suddenly, two men blocked our path. One guy had a dagger in his hand and looked serious; the other guy just gave us a goofy grin. Their clothes looked ragged and dirty.

"So, uh, where's this airship of yours?" The serious one asked.

Tim used his military voice, as he ordered, "Let us through." I searched the insides of my pocket for chalk.

"They're playing hard to get. Maybe we should teach them some manners." The goofy one said.

The serious one lurched forward, about to stab Tim in the neck. But Tim stopped the blade just before it slit his throat. The guy pinned him in the corner though, and tried the push the blade into his neck. Tim struggled, the blade just inches away from his throat.

The goofy one was about to come for me too. But I scribbled a transmutation circle before he could get to me. From the shroud of lights two stone fists emerged from the ground and grabbed the men. They couldn't move, their bodies encased in the stone fists.

"Dad!" The little boy came out of nowhere and beat against my legs with weak, flailing arms. "Let my Dad, go! I won't let you take him away from me!"

Tim plucked the kid up by his collar and sighed, "Jeez, some day we've had. First it's drug dealers, and now midgets are trying to attack us? Get lost kid, your Dad wouldn't be there if he didn't try to kill us."

"You don't understand! All I have is my Dad, please let him go!" The boy begged. He looked like he was only ten years old. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

His father, the serious one, spoke up, "I'm sorry for attacking you. But I felt angry because I thought you were leaving us to die. Please, if you are leaving, take my son with you!"

The little boy's eyes filled with tears, "I'm not leaving without you, Dad!"

"Don't listen to him. I know what's best for you, son. Please take him with you. Give my son a better life!"

If my father had been in the same situation, he'd do the same thing for me. Sure, Ed wouldn't like the idea of more people tagging along, but we had to do something. We were all suffering with the same problems. We had to help one another. Tim looked at me, his defenses clearly weakening as well.

He sighed, "I feel like I'm on a soap opera right now."

I laughed, and altered the alchemic reaction so the rock fists crumbled. The boy ran into his father's arms affectionately.

I turned to the boy and two men, and said, "We're taking you all with us. Don't worry, everything will be okay." I smiled and Tim smiled too. I didn't even fully believe my own words, but they had the desired effect.

The three of them grinned and ambushed us with hugs and gratitude. I'd never felt so much warmth from strangers before. I couldn't stop smiling. Those kinds of moments are scarce in life, but when they happen, you know you've done something right.

* * *

"ELIZA, THIS WASN'T THE PLAN! WHAT ARE WE, A CHARITY? HOW ARE WE GOING TO PAY FOR THEM?"

My brother was not happy. Scratch that, my brother was never happy. All he ever thought about were plans and all he ever did was make plans. He was tactical, a man of strategy. Once he made a plan, he preferred to stick with it. It was not very often that he diverged from the straight line that he'd created for himself, unless the occasion absolutely called for it.

"We have to pay?" I asked.

The airship was so huge! The wind turbines blew so much gust that I thought we'd get blown away. A wide platform or dock was extended down so people could walk inside. But before one could walk inside, they had to get past the ushers. Many people stood at the threshold, bargaining their way inside and arguing with the crew men to let them on board.

The boy looked down in sorrow, but I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure something out." I walked up to one of the ushers. He was a tall, brusque, and muscular man. He peered at me from beneath his blue state alchemist cap.

"We only made a deal for three. We've got limited space on this vessel."

"But my three friends need to get on board."

He scanned me up and down, "What are you willing to give me?" I took some of mom's jewelry from my pocket, but the gold didn't appeal to him. He grabbed my chin firmly, cocking it up so my eyes met his.

"Trinkets don't interest me. But I have something else in mind, if you know what I mean." This time, his eyes scanned me more slowly from head to toe…

I knew what he was talking about. I knew it, but I wish I hadn't. How had it come to this? Not long ago I had been a student at Dublith University, now I was…in these kind of situations.

I smacked away his hand, but he kept talking, "You're a nice looking girl. And you care about your friends, right?"

I looked back at Ed, Tim, and the others. I felt too embarrassed to ask them for help. And besides, I wasn't some weak little girl. The father, son, and uncle, all stared up at me worriedly. I could see the doubt lingering in their faces, the fear that their fates were in someone else's hands. I was not a god, and yet at that moment, the powers of life and death had been given to me. I imagined what would happen if I said no. I imagined the charred and blackened remains of skin and bone. I hardly knew them, but I felt like I had to help them.

I nodded slowly. The man smirked devilishly and whispered, "I'll send for you to come to my quarters at 11:00pm tonight."

He then assumed a more kind voice as he called everyone over, "My friends, you are all free to board."

The father, son, and uncle smiled and skipped up onto the dock. Ed nudged me as he passed and whispered, "I don't know how you did it, but I guess the pity trick works all the time."

He went on-board with the others. I was about to follow too, when Tim "accidentally" shoved into the man. "Oh, excuse me," He muttered nonchalantly. The man glared, clearly provoked, but he shook his head and let us pass.

"Yeah Liz, why did he let us on-board? He seemed so against it before." Tim turned to me, perplexed and suspicious.

"Well, it's like Ed said, 'pity always works.' Come on, let's go find our quarters." I ran to join the others, but I could tell Tim was unmoved by my explanation. He kept staring at me, but I pretended like I didn't notice.

* * *

The airship had three levels. We were on the second level, in what was usually the crew's quarters. The quarters were cramped. The stench of body odor, cheap perfume, and urine filled the air. We wrinkled our noses at the smell. Almost every room was taken as the refugees piled in. We were lucky to find a small room with three bunk beds. The room was slightly more pleasant, less smelly. As we divided up the bunks (I had a bunk to myself since I was a girl), the father turned to us.

"I'm sorry. We haven't properly introduced ourselves yet. My name is Nathaniel. This is my brother, Coco, and you've already met my son, Allen." Nathaniel said.

Allen, the little boy, latched onto my trench coat, a look of wonder on his face. "You know alchemy, right? Can you teach me?"

Ed rolled his eyes, "Alchemy isn't all that! Automail's the best. Come and learn from the Master! Edward Elric, son of the famous mechanic, Winry Rockbell, and the protégé of Master Garfiel!"

Allen looked at Ed, then looked back at me, and came running to my side. "What's so great about working in a junk heap?"

"Hey! I dare you to come over here and say that to me, you pipsqueak!"

"Who's a pipsqueak? I'm not a pipsqueak, you bald man!"

"What? I'm not bald! Something's wrong with your eyesight, kid!"

I sighed, "It's nice to meet you sir. I'm Eliza, that's Tim, and this is my crazy brother, Ed."

"I'm not crazy!" Ed shouted.

"Hey," The little boy pulled at my trench coat again, "Why did you have to use a transmutation circle? General Mustang doesn't have to use a transmutation circle…"

"Well…" I remembered Uncle Al. He never used a transmutation circle either. Why?

"_Hey Uncle Al, how come you don't use a transmutation circle?" I sat on his lap on the porch, as he rocked slowly in the rocking chair Grandma Pinako used to sit in. Dad and Ed were practicing sparring in the front yard. Ed made slow gains, landing a few kicks and punches._

_Uncle Al closed his eyes and touched his fingers to his face, seeing that which was un-seeable to me. He sighed and opened his eyes, taking my small hands in his._

"_I committed alchemy's worst taboo." The passing clouds cast a shadow over the house. The wind howled. A storm was coming._

_Back then, I didn't know what the taboo was. But I knew the words now: Human Transmutation, the forbidden and worst taboo of Alchemy._

"Allen, stop bugging Miss Eliza. She's probably tired. It's 10:30 already." Suddenly, I remembered my promise to that disgusting crew man.

There was a hard knock at the door. Ed opened it, revealing one of the crew men in a blue state alchemist uniform. He eyed all of us, but his gaze fixed on me.


	6. Ready, Set, Fight?

**DISCLAIMER: Thanks for Reading and Please Reviewwwwwwww! Thank you again. Whenever, I get reviews I feel like people actually care lol. If you feel the same way, please don't hesitate to let me know! lol I have so much homework right now but who gives a crap! FMMMAAA! All the way!**_  
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_Ready, Set, Fight?  
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There was a hard knock at the door. Ed opened it, revealing one of the crew men in a blue state alchemist uniform. He eyed all of us, but his gaze fixed on me.

"The captain wants to discuss some matters regarding payment." The crew man said.

Ed beamed, "Oh! OH! Can we see the engine room and the upper deck too?"

"Um, no. The captain specifically requested this girl." The crew man pointed to me, but Tim stepped forward.

"No, we're going too. We prefer to keep our party together."

I rushed to the doorway and blocked their path, "No, no, you two should stay here. He just wants the jewelry I promised him earlier."

"Jewelry? I thought you said you only used the pity trick?" Tim jabbed. What was this? An interrogation? It wasn't any of his business!

"So, who am I bringing?" The crewman asked.

I whispered "stay here" between clenched teeth, but Ed slipped by me in his excitement and Tim followed suit, muttering, "Your behavior's making me more suspicious."

I sighed and looked at the crewman. He looked annoyed too, but waved for us to follow anyway. After passing through a series of winding corridors, we made it to the upper deck where the captain awaited us. The upper deck was where all the controls and two pilots were.

The captain stood before us in his crisp, official-looking blue state alchemist uniform. As I came in and took in his face, I realized that he was the man from earlier! He smiled at me, but when he saw Tim and my brother his expression instantly turned to one of annoyance. He looked at the crew man probing him for answers, but the crew man shrank away under his oppressive glare.

He turned to us and put on a fake smile, flashing his pearly white teeth. He was a middle-aged man yet still handsome and muscular, with sensual brown eyes and hair. I might've actually liked him if he hadn't been such a jerk, and close to my father's age.

Tim looked like he wanted to puke. Ed on the other hand, glanced around at all the machinery, inhaling the scent of fresh metal like it was mom's freshly baked apple pie.

"Can I take a look around?" Ed squiggled. Yes, he seriously squiggled with excitement. The captain nodded and Ed took off, disappearing into his own personal la-la-land. Then, the captain turned to Tim and me.

"I have some business with the young lady. Why don't you take a look around like your friend?" He smirked.

"You mean that weirdo over there?"

"HEY! I heard that!"

"Um sir, please stop rubbing up against the controls."

"Thanks but no thanks. I don't really care for this piece of junk." Tim replied.

The captain stood and glared at him for a few seconds, but Tim wasn't affected by this in the least. He stood his ground and cocked an eyebrow at the man curiously, a coy smile playing on his lips. This irked the captain even more, and it was slightly pissing me off too because I didn't know what the hell was going on.

Out of nowhere, Tim turned to me and said, "So this old guy was trying to pick you up or something?"

I was about to reply when the airship suddenly rocked violently, thrown off its course. The floor slanted and we were all tossed backwards. Tim grabbed my hand just in time and latched onto the nearby railing, so I didn't plummet into the wall. But the captain wasn't so lucky. He flew backwards out of my line of sight.

"We've been hit, Captain! Two foreign aircrafts are pursuing us!" A young pilot yelled. The captain didn't reply.

"Captain! I await further orders! Sir?"

My eyes searched the space for him, and at last I spotted him. He was lying on the floor by the wall, his forehead bloody. When the floor leveled out we ran to him. I propped his head on my lap, trying to remember some of the medical advice mom had given me.

"He's out cold!" I yelled.

Ed rushed over to the nearby pilot, "Where's the vice captain? Is there anyone available to operate the ship?"

"The vice captain is on vacation. I can't believe I signed up for this, we're all gonna die man!" Ed grabbed the young boy by the collar and shook him, "Calm down!"

"He's right though, who's going to fly the ship and give orders?" Tim asked.

Ed rolled his eyes and flung himself into the captain's head pilot chair, "You people always underestimate me. Hey, you over there! Give me the report."

"But Ed, you're a mechanic. You don't know how to operate an airship!" I yelled.

"What do you think I did up at Briggs? Count polar bears?" Ed merely gave me that all-knowing grin of his. His fingers flitted to work at once, pushing buttons and levers like a pro.

"Sir, two unidentified aircrafts are attacking us. The starboard side was hit by that last blow!" A pilot chimed.

"Alright! Pilot 1 protect the right. Pilot 2 guard the left. Tim, Liz, take care of the captain for now." Ed ordered.

A feeling of pride rushed through me. Despite everything that was happening, it seemed like Ed knew what he was doing, and that everything would be okay. I tried to do my part too. The captain's head was bleeding profusely. I kept him upright, and ripped off a piece of my trench coat and wrapped it around his head to stop the bleeding. But the worst wasn't over. If the wound hemorrhaged, then there would be little we could do.

"Take this, assholes! Bullseye!" Ed cheered, as a shell landed and ripped through the hull of one of the aircrafts, causing it to explode and go down in a red streak. But there was still one aircraft left.

Suddenly, we jolted forward, but it wasn't like the last tremor. It felt like something was on top of us, pulling us toward it. Just as quickly as it came, it released us from its grip and we jolted forward again. The aircraft pulled in front of us, and moved at a slower pace.

"Sir! There's no sign of damage, but the sensors are picking up some movement on the roof."

"What's their game?" Ed muttered, as the aircraft slowed down. His fingers lingered over the trigger, but he hesitated to fire. Another tremor rocked the ship, but this time it was closer. Sirens started ringing loudly.

"Damn it! Something's on the roof!" Ed scowled.

I felt something fall out of my pocket and looked down to see what it was. The white gloves with the yellow transmutation circles on the palms lay on the ground before me. For a while, I couldn't bring myself to pick them up. Could I believe what I was seeing? Was this reality or a dream?

I slowly took them in my hand, mesmerized by the golden yellow circles of alchemy and alkhestry on the palms. In the very centers of the circle, I saw the symbol of what appeared to be a snake or dragon curled around a cross, with two small angel wings hovering over it.

It reminded me of the symbol on the back of Dad's old red jacket.

The captain's eyes opened slowly and he looked up at me, "You have the most beautiful blue eyes baby…"

Tim rose up, grabbing the sword at the captain's waist, "Hey Ed, the captain's fine. Open the hatch to the roof! We'll go up there and stop whatever is there!"

I slipped on the gloves. It was a perfect fit.

My heart was pounding in my chest like it was going to come out. And my legs wouldn't stop shaking, though I hid it well. I took a deep breath and gathered my wits about me. While I still had my courage, I figured we might as well give it a shot. We carried the captain to a vacant chair and strapped him in.

"Hey, Ed! Open the hatch! We'll be fine, don't worry." I said, putting on my brave face.

He looked back at me with worried eyes, but sighed and opened the hatch. A small platform lowered for us to step on.

"Be careful, and protect my sister, Tim." He warned, as we stepped onto it and ascended.

He smiled briefly at me, and I returned the smile. It was better this way…to remember each other smiling just in case something happened. I looked up at the night sky above us, wondering what darkness awaited us there.

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	7. Discord

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_Discord_

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It was dark, and we were hundreds of miles above the surface. The mountains and hills below looked like little mounds rising and falling out of the earth. I almost got dizzy as I looked over the edge.

I felt Tim nudge my shoulder, reigning me in, "Just don't look down. It'll be over before you know it." I gulped, and tried to replace the thoughts of falling through the sky with those of being home, surrounded by Mom and Dad, and everyone else.

"Ok, let's find them. I don't know how many guys there are, but let's just call each other's names if we need help." I said.

Tim nodded urgently, "I agree. You take the back, and I'll search around here."

I went off to the back of the ship like Tim had said when suddenly I heard him call out for me. I turned around, fearful that something had happened, but he just smiled at me.

"Be careful, Liz. I'll be here if you need anything." I was grateful that I wasn't alone up there. Tim somehow, always knew how to make me feel at ease.

I returned the smile, "Be careful too. I'll see you soon." I followed the dimly lit path to the back of the airship, leaving Tim in the darkness behind me. I was walking for a while, the airship was so long! But after walking for about eight minutes, I finally reached the tall archway of an exhaust pipe.

The metal of the pipe felt cool, and it looked like the perfect hiding place. I was about to check it out, when suddenly I heard quick footsteps approaching. I turned around just as the man shot fire out of his hand. I barely dodged it, careening to his side.

He wore a glowing red crystal on his neck, and had narrow black eyes, pale skin, and wore black garb like a ninja. I searched my pocket for some chalk, but found none. _Shit, I thought I had some. And even though I have these transmutation circles, I don't know how to make them work! _

I was in the worst possible situation for an alchemist. Unless I had gloves or knew how to transmute without a transmutation circle, I would be done for. He smirked as I backed away from him slowly, probably thinking I was afraid. But what I was really trying to do was buy time. Then suddenly, I got an idea.

I discreetly took off the trench coat belt at my waist as the man powered up for another blow. He stepped forward to throw another fiery punch. But I swerved to his side, instantaneously wrapping the belt around his hand.

He grimaced as I pulled his arm behind his back, and tripped him so he fell forward onto the ground. I dug my knee into his body, and then pulled his other arm across his back to join his wrists in my makeshift handcuffs. He scowled as tightened the belt.

"Who the hell are you? A military officer?"

"I learned from the best." I replied, remembering Dad and Uncle Al.

I spied a tattoo on his neck. It was a Xingenese symbol. I didn't know what it meant, but I'd seen symbols like it before.

"You're from Xing?" I asked, incredulously.

"It's none of your business!"

The crystal at his neck stopped glowing red and faded to black. But suddenly, the gold transmutation circles on my palms began glowing a yellow iridescent light. _What's going on?_

"Those symbols on your hands… Where did you get that?" He asked, crudely.

"What?"

"Those are the symbols of the ancients. The ancients of Xerxes. I've seen those symbols all over the ruins in the desert. That's where my village is."

Xerxes? He couldn't be serious. Xerxes was some ancient civilization from thousands of years ago. What could I possibly have to do with them? He was just trying to distract me. I tightened the binds around his hands and he grunted out in pain.

"Why are you attacking us? Who do you work for?" I demanded.

"Perhaps you should be more worried about the bomb." He said, nodding to the exhaust pipes. In its tall archway was a small, flashing red dot, lighting up the darkness around it.

"It's going off in two minutes. There's no way you can de-activate it. This time, we're all going to die." He grinned maliciously.

I didn't want to leave him there, but at the same time I had to get rid of that bomb, for all our sakes! I got off of him and sprinted for the archway. Surprisingly, it was a small metal device, with the red dot in the center. Like he said, there was no way I could de-activate it. There were no buttons or anything like an ordinary bomb.

And there wasn't much time. I poked it, but react to my touch. With some gentle coaxing, I managed to pluck it off and threw it far away just in time as it exploded. The fire from the explosion lit up the night sky, and even though it was far away I could still feel the heat against my skin.

Ed must've steered to avoid the blast, because suddenly the ship jerked harshly to the side and the floor slanted downwards again. I lost my footing and rolled towards the edge of the ship.

I was lucky that I didn't fall off the edge, propping my foot against a small ridge on the side. But it was still too close for comfort. I heard some animalistic honking in the distance, and looked over to see some geese flying next to the ship. I swear they looked at me weird.

Suddenly, I heard quick footsteps behind me. I got up and turned to face the guy, but I was too slow. He grabbed me by collar, and threw me to the other side of the ship. I half-crashed, half-landed on the ground, bruising my shoulder. He was on top of me at that instant, strong hands wrapped around my neck.

I couldn't breathe.

All I could see was the sky and his menacing face above me. Thoughts flickered through my mind. I wondered what Mom and Dad were doing, if they were still waiting for us in Central. I wondered if Tim and Ed were okay. My hands searched the ground, searching for anything I could use to fight, but all I touched was air. The man's face got hazier, until all I could hear was the sound of my pulse ringing in my ears. I thought I was going to die.

Suddenly, the man grimaced in pain and he took his hands off my throat. I saw a metal automail leg kick him out of nowhere, and he flew. Tim knelt down beside me, helping me sit up. I gasped for air.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

It was still hard to hear him with the blood rushing in my ears, but I nodded. "What happened to your guy?" I asked.

"I tied him up real tight somewhere. We can take him back to Central. I'm sure the military would love to ask him some questions."

I sighed, "I thought that I was a goner. Thanks."

He looked at me, his expression contemplative. I wondered what was on his mind. But when I met his gaze, he quickly looked away, "You don't have to say thanks. I've got your back. Now, we have to figure out what to do with him."

In the distance, the man unsteadily got to his feet. His breathing was labored as he backed away slowly to the edge of the ship. He looked at the both of us scornfully. At first, I didn't know what he was doing. But when I saw him standing right over the edge, I realized he was going to jump.

I moved to stop him, but Tim grasped my arm. Where was the honor in killing himself? If he lived, then maybe he could at least do something to change his life. Maybe he could tell us who had ordered him to attack the ship.

"Wait! You don't have to jump!"

He paused, and turned back to look at us, "I've failed my mission. If I were to live, they would kill me anyway."

"Who? Who would kill you? Come with us. We can help you."

"She's right. If you told the government everything you know, they may go easy on you." Tim added.

"Heh…that's what all you stupid Amestrians say. You always think you're better than everyone else! Safer here? Even after Grumman became Fuhrer, you Amestrians still invade my village and kidnap people, or sell them into slavery so they can pay off their debts! Why should I trust any of you?"

Tim and I exchanged curious looks. Was he being serious? Why would the government do something like that?

I shook my head, "That can't be true. General Mustang wouldn't allow that. Just step back! We work this out!"

The man smirked briefly, "Remember this: There are things they will never tell you. Things they don't want you to know." And with those last words, he turned and leapt into the darkness below.

I ran to stop him, but I couldn't get there fast enough. My body still felt weak. It was like he had vanished into thin air. There was no sign that he had even existed. No indent in the clouds, no sounds of him falling or screaming.

How could it be so easy for a person to just disappear? I felt so angry and confused. What did he mean that "_There are things they'll never tell you"_? And that Amestris was "invading villages and kidnapping people?" Was the Cretian war somehow our fault too? The worst part was that I'd never know.

Tim tried to put a hand on my shoulder to console me, but I pushed him away forcefully. "What the hell is your problem? You could've done something!"

"What are you talking about? The man wanted to die! Why stop him? He almost killed you!"

"But you heard what he said! If he was alive, he could've explained what he meant!"

Tim rolled his eyes, "He was just playing with your head! Don't you see that? It's how men like him work! He could be lying for all you know. Are you going to believe everything you hear?"

"No, but…why would he lie about his village? Or people being sold into slavery?" I stared up at him, defiant. For a while, he stared back too. I wanted to hear his answer. After all, he'd been training in the military. Wasn't there anything he could say?

But he didn't reply. After a few moments, he sighed and walked away from me.

"Where are you going?"

"To find the hatch and go back inside. This is a stupid conversation."

"You think it's stupid that a man just died?" I yelled.

He stopped dead in his tracks, like my words had struck a nerve. He turned around so quickly and was back before I could even say anything.

He leaned in close, "I don't know how things went up at that little prestigious college of yours, but this is the real world. There's things we'll never know. Secrets we'll never know. That's just the way it is, so deal with it. If the military got that guy, who knows what would have happened to him. And frankly, nobody cares. That little utopia crap in your head is just a dream. Wake up."

"Whoa, are you two okay up there? I just got this thing to work." Ed's voice rang out on a loud speaker somewhere,

"Open the hatch Ed." I said. The hatch opened up and revealed the platform in the distance. I walked toward it, ignoring Tim completely.

I couldn't understand him, and I didn't want to. If people always just accepted things as they were, then how could anyone ever change anything? Basically, he was just saying to give up, because trying to do anything would require too much effort.

"You're not going to help me bring in the captive?" He asked.

"Do it yourself. I'm sure those strong legs of yours will do just fine."

"Whatever."

I didn't look at him as the platform took me down. For the whole airship ride to Central we didn't talk. Luckily, the other aircraft that had been pursuing us disappeared.

We passed over Rush Valley, and continued straight for Central. The captain never fully recovered, insisting that he didn't know how to fly an airship. So Ed took his place until we got to Central. Ed kept asking me what had happened between Tim and I, but I didn't say anything. I just wanted to see Mom and Dad again. I wanted to go home.

* * *

_**Meanwhile in Central**_

"It's your move, General Mustang." The Fuhrer said, eying Mustang's King and Queen thoughtfully.

"Give me time to think. It's been a while since we played chess."

"I thought you would've maintained your skills. Too busy flexing your muscles in Ishval?"

Riza smiled at that. She sat on a small couch by the chess table, documenting their meeting on a clip board and scanning over other various reports. The room used to be Fuhrer Bradley's office, but the décor had been replaced and spruced up more, with lively blues, whites, and other stately shades.

Mustang smirked, "I see you haven't lost your humor. That's very good, sir. So, what did you want to-"

"Are you interested in getting married? You can't remain a bachelor forever."

Roy blushed and eyed the crimson flush coming onto Riza's cheeks, "Sir, this isn't the thing you wanted to talk about, right?"

"Oh! You mean, that! I almost forgot. Hah, thanks for putting me back on track." Fuhrer Grumman was rather absent-minded lately. Roy and Riza let out a sigh of relief, but eyed one another with a secret smile.

"I wanted to talk to you about what's going on in the South. You heard the reports, right? The Cretians are currently in Dublith as we speak."

"Dublith? They got that far already?"

Grumman nodded gravely. His face was more pale and emaciated than it had been fifteen years before. Whereas Mustang had retained most of his youth and muscle, the Fuhrer's health was only worsening.

"What is your recommended plan of action, sir? We already have forces fighting at the border, and others that will intercept their path."

"But our forces won't be able to stop them. Whatever god forsaken technology they have, they're burning whole cities to the ground with it. I thank God that Bradley is no longer here, but he wouldn't have let this happen on his watch. He always made sure that Amestris' military strength was up to par."

"But he used the army to spread genocide all over the Amestris. We did what we had to do to bring peace back." Riza spoke.

"Yes, I know. But now, who knows when we'll ever have peace again." Grumman brooded.

Roy didn't like the Fuhrer's reaction. He had hoped that the Fuhrer would be more resolute and upbeat about handling the Cretian invaders. Nothing about the Fuhrer's response so far had given any promise or consolation that something could be done. It was worrisome. What was the Fuhrer thinking? He didn't want to ask the question again, but he had to.

"So, what is your recommended plan of action, sir?"

The Fuhrer grew silent, and a dark feeling settled upon them in that silence. All that could be heard was the tick tock of a pendulum clock on the wall. Riza looked up from her notes, and outside into the dark night.

"Our armies are being decimated by their war planes and ground attacks. The civilian population has been devastated in all the attacked areas. I will issue a state of emergency to evacuate civilians from the country. Evacuate as many people as possible to Xing, hell even Drachma if they're up for it."

"That sounds good. What else? Will you issue a proclamation of war against Creta?"

"No, I don't want any more casualties put towards war. General Mustang, I'm charging you with the duty of handling evacuations and ensuring things go smoothly. For now, don't worry about Creta."

The old Fuhrer got out his seat and walked for the doorway. He was about to leave when Mustang's voice called after him, "Fuhrer Grumman, sir! If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. My thoughts are always with you. I am not saying this as your subordinate, but as your friend."

The Fuhrer smiled. A smile that Mustang couldn't see, and nodded. "Be careful as well General Mustang. The road ahead is never smooth, especially not this one."


	8. The Choice

**Author's Note:** I can't believe I wrote this chapter. I have a ton of work to do (I have been re-watching FMAB though :P). But I hope that you enjoy another installment of _The Intrepid Alchemists, _and **PLEASE REVIEW. **Listened to Rurouni Kenshin songs and "Hope's Theme," from the FFXIII-2 soundtrack.

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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_The Choice  
_

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As soon as the airship landed in Central, we were taken to headquarters for questioning. The Cretian prisoner was put into a police car and we never saw him again. I had a strange feeling that things weren't right. Each of us were to be questioned separately by General Olivier Armstrong. Mom and Dad were supposedly informed of the arrangement, and were waiting for us at Gracia's apartment.

"Thanks for the fresh clothes. I'll get ready right away." I said, looking at the beautiful blue pencil skirt and white flowy blouse.

Riza had gotten me medical treatment for my bruised shoulder, given me clothes, and let me shower in the women's locker room. Unlike General Olivier, I'd grown a fondness for her over the years. Of all the military personnel my Dad knew, she was the sweetest of all.

"It's never a problem, don't worry about it." She smiled.

She was about to walk out of the room, but suddenly I thought of the Xingenese man plummeting to his death. His words about how Amestris had wronged him clung to my thoughts. I hesitated at first, but Riza was always kind. Maybe she knew the answer.

"Ms. Hawkeye, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Does the military have secrets that they don't want the public to know about?"

She seemed to take in my words and sat beside me on the bench, "Everyone has secrets, Eliza. Some more than others. If you don't mind me asking, why do you ask?"

_Should I tell her what the Xingenese man told me? Would she tell me the truth? _

She must've sensed my discomfort because she said, "Don't worry. Whatever you tell me will stay between us. Trust me, I've heard a lot of interesting secrets around here. Some secrets…I'd prefer not to know, if you know what I mean." She let out a light chuckle.

It was the kind of laugh that makes you feel at ease, like a gentle summer breeze washing over you after a long hot day. She reminded me of mom. The way she'd listen and give advice.

I began, "When the airship was attacked, we fought of two men. The one I fought was from Xing. He told me that we kidnap people from his village, and that's why he hates Amestris so much. Is Creta 'right' to attack us? Did we provoke them somehow?"

Riza looked a little taken aback by my question, but answered calmly, "As far as I know, the Fuhrer put a stop to that when he took office. Don't tell anyone I told you this, but back then, people were used for all kinds of experiments. Especially those having to do with the philosopher's stone."

"Uncle Al told me about it growing up. It sounds horrible." Fuhrer Bradley's story came to mind. I would never be able to imagine what kind of hell they endured back then. Riza herself, seemed to be in a trance, thinking deeply about something. The Ishvalan war, perhaps? I suppose that every new generation faces something like this. We're forced to look back at the past, at the trials of our parents and our grandparents, and be grateful that we weren't them. Be grateful that we have our advanced devices, our improved alchemy, and learn from their mistakes.

"It was horrible, but thankfully we don't do that anymore. And it's up to young people like you to learn from our mistakes, and do better than we did." She muttered.

"So then, was the man lying?" I asked.

"Well, it is rumored that some members of the military are involved in an illegal drug trade at the border with Xing. But fortunately, the military is conducting investigations into that. Trust me, General Mustang and the Fuhrer would never intentionally make war. You can trust them." She said, certainty in her voice.

A part of me felt relieved. I had just been overreacting. Sure, war with Creta did not make me feel so good, but at least it wasn't our fault. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off my conscience.

"Thank goodness. I was scared. I thought that Amestris was the reason for the war."

"I'm glad you feel better. But be careful nonetheless. We have reason to believe that there's pro-Cretian factions in the city. If I hear anything else, I'll let your Dad know for sure. And another thing: Don't tell anyone about what you hear here." She warned, getting up to leave the locker room.

"Thank you Ms. Hawkeye."

She gave me one last smile before departing, "Please, call me Riza." And with that, she left and I started getting ready for the interrogation.

* * *

"Are you sure that's all you know?" General Olivier Armstrong asked.

"Yes, that's all I know."

I'd been sitting in the same hard metal chair for two hours now. The room had taken on an eerie drabness by that time, as it was a small room with four metal walls and no windows.

"So you left Dublith via airship… Then, two foreign air crafts attacked you… You fought the Xingenese man, who subsequently committed suicide… And the red crystal at his neck allowed him to make fire… Are you sure that's all you know?"

Of course, I left out the part about the gloves. Especially about the gloves having ancient Xerxes symbols on them. The story of Xerxes was common knowledge in the military: a nation that had fallen to ruin due to avarice, destroyed in a single night to make the cursed philosopher's stone. The pursuit of which had almost brought this country to its knees.

I didn't want her to think I was some weirdo or take them away from me. Besides, who wakes up with objects from their dreams? It was all too convoluted and nerve-wracking to explain, so I avoided the matter completely.

Armstrong sighed and got up from the table. She knocked on the door in the corner of the room, and a soldier opened it.

"Please take Miss Elric back to where her brother is waiting, and escort them to the exit. We wouldn't want you getting lost again and crying now would we, Miss Elric?"

_She remembers that? _I smiled while trying not to seem somewhat offended. Did she really think I was that stupid? I wasn't a kid anymore! I could ask for directions! I was walking out with the soldier when she called to me.

"Miss Elric! If you are hiding anything, then I will surely find out. Your father could not fool me, so don't think you can either. Whatever information you're hiding, I'll find out." And with those chilly words, she walked away until she was out of sight.

She knew I was hiding something? No…that was silly. She was only trying to make me doubt myself. I had to keep my nerve. I sighed and kept walking with the soldier, until we reached Ed in the waiting room.

"How did your interrogation go?" I asked.

"Thank God it's over. Armstrong is such a pain in the butt. And she kept bringing up memories of the time I fell into the punch bowl at that military party from all those years back."

"You fell into the punch bowl?" I asked, surprised.

"Well no, some kids dared me to swim in it actually. It was pretty huge, you know."

"Wait a second, so that's why you were all loopy on the way back home! You were drunk!" I laughed.

"Let's just go home." He said, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly.

I wondered where Tim was. I hadn't seen him since we separated for the interrogation. I'm not sure if it was sibling telepathy or what, but Ed confirmed my thoughts.

"Tim went back to work. He got posted in Central, since he won't be returning to Dublith." Ed said, as we walked down the stone steps leading out of Central.

I felt somewhat disappointed. We didn't even have the chance to say goodbye or make up after the fight. He would probably be busy in the military from here on, since he was aspiring to be a Major. Now that we weren't in Dublith, what was I going to do? I had worked so hard to get into Dublith University, but now my dreams of a college degree in Alchemy and Alkhestry were put on hold. Should I try to find a job, or get admitted to a college in Central?

"Ed, what are you going to do now?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You know. Now that you're not working in Dublith, what are you going to do?"

He waved for a taxi. One spotted us and swerved over to the side walk. We got in and gave the directions for Gracia's house.

"Do what I've always done. They have some automail shops here in Central. If that doesn't work, I'll go work in the military's airship yards—I could always learn a new trade." He said, confidently.

I envied him. He always knew what he wanted to do. He always knew what direction he was headed, and what would be waiting there.

I sighed and stared out the window at the passing buildings, "I'm a failure."

"What did you say?"

"Dad didn't even go to college, and became a state alchemist when he was a kid. Then, he saved the world. How do I live up to that? I'm 20 years old and I'm not even that advanced in alchemy." Everyone seemed to know what they wanted in life. Why didn't I? What was wrong with me?

"Liz, no one's going to stop and tell you where to go. You have to decide." Ed replied.

"That's easy for you to say. You know how to fly an airship and do cold-weather automail, and a bunch of other stuff." I moaned.

He was silent for a moment and looked at me. His face was serious, more serious than his usual self. I was expecting him to get frustrated and not say anything, or scold me. But instead, he took a deep breath and put his fingers to his temples thoughtfully.

"Listen, you're my sister. So I'm gonna give it to you straight. Nothing comes easy. I didn't learn all those things because I'm gifted or something. I just had a lot a free time to work at it and screw up. In fact, I almost crashed the airship into Briggs while I was learning. And trust me, General Olivier was there, and she was out to get me for a week." He said.

It took all my composure to keep from laughing. He nearly destroyed Fort Briggs? The famous stronghold of the North? I could see why General Olivier would want to kill him for that.

"You need to decide what you want and go for it. Make a choice. No one's going to sit there and wait for you. Feeling sorry for yourself won't change anything. In fact, it's worse. There's people in the world who will underestimate you, and say that you're not good enough. I've heard it a million times myself because I'm a 'young' mechanic. But don't give into that. If you do, you're just letting them win." He added.

The taxi stopped in front of Gracia's house, and we split the bill evenly. My brother and I were the same age, but it seemed like he had so much more wisdom and experience than I did. How had I not noticed his mature demeanor before? Maybe he was right. All I had to do was make a choice and go for it. I couldn't let fear stop me.

"Just never give up. That's the bottom-line." Ed said, ringing the doorbell of Gracia's apartment building. She buzzed us in and we walked up.

I was still carrying my dirty trench from earlier. As we were walking up the stairs, one of the gloves fell out of the pocket. I stared at the glove on the step and picked it up, turning it over in my hand to look at the gold transmutation symbol.

Perhaps, this was my answer…the "next step" for me to take. To find out more about the gloves—how to use them, their power, the reason why they were given to me… After all, I couldn't let my alchemy get rusty, and since I had nothing better to do, why not?

_You need to decide what you want and go for it. Make a choice. _Ed's words rung in my head.

I looked at the gloves in my hands.

_This is what I choose. This is my choice._

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	9. Death of a Hero

**Thanks so much to everyone that has read this story, and PLEASE REVIEW! And trust me, I know it's been 2 weeks, it's just hard to write when life happens. And writer's block is a bitch.**

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_Death of a Hero  
_

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Bookcases reached sky high into the ceiling, stacked full to my heart's content. The alchemy section was long, filling up an entire wall. _The Story of Xerxes, Amestrian Conspiracy, Xerxian Alchemical Symbols, How to Use Glove Transmutation Circles… _the books were splayed across the table, their pages open wide, as if inviting a glimpse. Some of the books had new spines, these were the ones I had to force open. I surveyed the detailed (er, messy) notes I'd taken.

The golden transmutation circles were definitely a symbol from Xerxes. A symbol meaning energy, lightening. The gloves served as some kind of conduit for energy. _Like General Mustang's gloves_ _(when he used them)_, I thought.

A young man slammed the door to the library, raising glares from Sheska and the librarians nearby. He ducked his head sheepishly and walked down the aisle towards my table. I squinted as he approached, recognizing his Ishvalan features right away.

Tim pulled up a chair and sat down, "What are working on? You've been here for three hours."

"Trying to find out more about these stupid gloves. It's like a puzzle." I said, exhausted.

I tossed the poorly scrawled notes over the table. The same words sounded over and over again. _Energy, Power, Lightening, Conduit… _He grabbed the notes, a curious brow raised as he looked over them.

"Is there a reason why the symbol is gold?" He asked.

"Gold means perfection in alchemy, or to be all-powerful." I muttered, burying my head in my arms. Maybe it was all a pointless pursuit.

"Gold energy? That's what your notes say…Maybe it means _'perfect energy or perfect lightening.'_" He said.

Even if it did mean that, the symbols where a mixture of alchemy and alkhestry, which means epic fail since I was only an alchemist really. I took back the notes and packed up early.

"You know, there's a huge storm coming fast." Tim said, looking concerned.

"I have to meet my Dad at Central University soon. I can't be late." I said, proceeding for the door. Tim followed, shaking his head at my stubbornness.

A deep rumbling sounded from the sky as I stepped out onto the stone steps. It looked like the sky was going to unleash a waterfall.

Tim gave me a worried look, "Let's just wait for the storm to be over."

"It's really important. It's about research." I said.

"Fine. If you insist on going, let me drive you there. If anything bad happens to you, Ed and your Dad would kill me if they knew I didn't do anything." He said.

I stopped and gave him a look. His constant looking-out was getting annoying. But I guess he had a point. Only an idiot would walk through a coming storm like this.

He managed to find a car and we sped out of Central headquarters. The sky bellowed another thundery sigh. Suddenly, an unrelenting downpour of rain fell from the sky. Then it turned into bullet-size hail, threatening to get larger. We had to squint just to see out of the windshield.

"Damn…we should've stayed at Headquarters. The roads are wet. It's too dangerous out here." Tim muttered.

"Isn't a storm in September really strange?" I asked. The sky was so gray and dreary, unusual weather for Central in September. Tim didn't seem to hear my comment.

"I still can't believe your Dad is a college professor. I figured he'd be traveling and doing real stuff, you know?"

* * *

_Edward Elric, Dean and Professor, _the silver plaque on the wooden door read.

I turned the knob and walked in. The room was large with a small table, some chairs for company, and a coffee table beside his desk. Stacks of papers were on his desk like miniature towers threatening to topple over. So much for being organized. On the small table, a radio blared out blurry static and a man's voice occasionally broke through. But I didn't see my dad.

"Don't tell me we rushed all the way out here for nothing…" Tim muttered, sighing impatiently. "I'm going back to the car." Just as he was about to walk out, dad almost knocked into him.

"Whoa, good thing I saw you coming. If I knew the weather was going to be this bad I wouldn't have let you come." Dad grimaced, coming in to sit at his desk.

He gestured to take a seat, placing two spare chairs in front of his desk. Tim and I sat down as he fell into his large padded desk chair, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Those kids don't care about anything these days. All they want is grades, not to truly learn what alchemy is." He complained, grabbing the stacks of papers and hiding them away in his desk drawer.

I took out the gloves, "Well, maybe you can tell me what this is."

A change always seemed to occur in him whenever alchemy was involved. He put on his glasses and surveyed the gold symbol under the light of his desk lamp, his fingers carefully tracing over it. At last, a look of understanding settled upon his face. But then, he seemed hesitant. His eyes narrowed in thought, as if he had just realized something, but was trying to hide it. He gave the gloves back to me and looked disappointed. Fake disappointment.

"I can't seem to figure it out. Have you gone to the library like I told you?"

"Are you sure you don't know about this? But, you've been to Xerxes before. And Grandpa Hoenheim…he—" I urged.

"I don't think I can help you on this one." He said, flatly. Too flatly.

"Are you sure?" I'd been hoping that he would be able to give me the answers. But I knew my dad. Maybe he was trying to make it harder for me, to teach me something. But his next words indicated differently.

"I know you want to know more about this, but I think you should just focus on school." He said, trying to change the subject.

"Dad, I know you know something about this. Please tell me." I said, making the puppy dog face. I should've known better. That face only works with mom.

"There's nothing else to say about it." He replied, ending the conversation. Tim nodded in agreement, "Maybe the gold symbols are just decoration or something."

But I knew better than that, and dad knew better too. Symbols are always there for a reason in Alchemy. Nothing is ever done without reason. But dad's eyes seemed darker as they stared into mine. It was as if he was trying to warn me not to go further. But why?

Suddenly, his eyes became lighter, "Well, the good news is that I'm a councilman now! I just got elected to be a councilman in the Amestrian Congress!" He said, grinning widely.

Tim shook my Dad's hand in congratulations, "You! A politician! I didn't see this coming. Oh yeah, what about Mr. Alfonse?"

Dad's smiled weakened, and he took out a note from his drawer and handed it to me. "I almost forgot to tell you. Your Uncle Al is in Xing…on his way to the Emperor's Court as we speak."

Why would Uncle Al be in Xing? I read the note:

"_It is a two days journey to the Emperor's Court. But thanks to May's expertise, I'm sure that we will make it there sooner. Ling is expecting us. Hopefully, he can amass an army in time to stop the Cretians. Xing is a large continent, his army is great and can help us. I will send word of all further developments. Best of luck to you and all my friends in Central. Give my regards to Ed, Winry, and the kids if you see them._

_Godspeed,_

_Alfonse Elric"_

"This is a letter he wrote to General Mustang. Alfonse is an agent for the government now." Dad said, looking at both of us gravely.

Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion outside. The whole room began to shake as if there was an earthquake. Papers and books fell over, and we all fell out of our chairs onto the floor.

"What's going on?" I yelled, amid the cacophony of exploding and crashing noises outside. The sounds was getting closer.

"No, it can't be." Dad trailed off, as he managed to get up and go to the window.

His eyes widened as he looked up the gray sky and he didn't answer me. Tim and I looked at one another uncertainly, but got up to join him by the window too. A dark feeling crept upon me. The same feeling of anxiety I had when those Cretian airships attacked us. The sky was riddled with large, looming black crafts, like alien ships, almost eclipsing the gray sky from view. They were massive in size compared to the agile little airship that attacked us.

I barely heard the words that left Tim's mouth. The two syllables faded into the air, silent and fearful, "Creta."

Suddenly, sirens filled the city with their screeching screams. The streets were filled with buzzing ambulances. Troops of soldiers suddenly filled the empty streets, aiming artillery for the vast, frightening ships overhead. In the distance, I could see buildings in East and West Central on fire. The flames burst up into the sky, like the fiery red and blue depths of Hell. More tremors shook the city as more bombs dropped.

"Mustang said we had time. That with their technology, Creta wouldn't be coming for at least another six months." Dad muttered.

Just as he said that, the biggest transmutation circle I'd ever seen suddenly appeared in the sky—covering the entire City of Central—and began pulsing an eerie blue light that shone down on the city streets. I'd never seen a transmutation circle so massive! Nor had I ever seen a symbol like it before. It looked like a fusion of alchemy and alkhestry.

"Human transmutation?" I asked.

"No, it's different. If it was, we'd be feeling it by now." Dad muttered.

Just then, there were frantic knocks and banging on the door. It opened, revealing two young male students, "Professor! They need your help!"

We followed them outside to the city streets. Screams could be heard throughout the city as bombs exploded. A woman passed me carrying her son's lifeless body in her arms, tears streaming down her face, her eyes sick and wild like some tormented creature. And she wasn't the only one. Scenes like this emerged almost everywhere we turned.

We managed to reach the state alchemists gathered a few blocks away. They had already etched their transmutation circles into the asphalt and some were wearing gloves, ready to transmute.

Dad immediately went to their aid, "What's the problem here?"

One state alchemist looked up from his transmutation circle, "We can't transmute! Ever since that damn blue thing appeared, our alchemy just can't work!"

"And it's not just here. Listen to the radio, Councilman." Another man held up his military radio. All across Central, the same sentiments were echoed. No one could perform alchemy, not even the Great General Mustang who was trying to fend off attacks on Central headquarters.

Suddenly, an explosion went off, erupting from a nearby street alley that was close to us. Debris and smoke filled the air and obscured everything from view, choking our lungs. My eyes felt hot and watery as I struggled to breathe. I grabbed Dad's hand and felt someone grab my hand and they walked quickly, pulling us out of the smoke. I realized it was Tim. We managed to get out of the dust cloud into an alley where the air was clear.

"Fuck! We're screwed! How is the military going to protect us if they can't do alchemy? We need to get back to headquarters." Tim yelled, denial rising in his voice.

I was about to agree with him, when I realized that I didn't know where Ed or mom was. I felt a twisted pain in my gut at the thought, a knotted ball of tension forming in my throat. I ran to a nearby fire escape and climbed it to the first level, where I could see Central from a better view. The eastern part of Central where Garcia lived was exploding up in flames.

My body froze as the words escaped my lips, "Dad…Gracia's house is on fire, the whole eastern part…"

I tried to stop it. I wanted to be stronger. But tears started rolling down my eyes, and they just wouldn't stop. Before I knew it, Dad was beside me, sheltering me in his lean, strong arms. He cradled me back and forth, gently smoothing my hair. I felt something wet in against my forehead. Was he crying too?

_Honk Honk! _I opened my eyes through blurry tears and looked in the direction of the sound. Dad looked too, and I caught Tim smiling below.

My tall, golden-haired brother stepped out of the driver's seat of the car. Mom, Elicia, and Gracia were sitting in the back. The expression on his face was one of relief and worry as he eyed all three of us. "We've been looking for you! Both of you! And nice to see you again Tim! By the way, we got a call from someone to go to headquarters!"

Dad and I got off the fire escape and ran into Ed's arms. Tim patted him on the back, "You're my savior, I owe you one."

Ed gave him a shy glance, "So this makes up for the twenty dollars I borrowed, right?"

Tim paused, "Wait, you're the one who went through my stuff?"

But they didn't have time to argue. Dad ushered all three of us into the already cramped back seat and took the wheel. We swerved through the city, avoiding the rumbling bombs and debris, until we managed to reach Central gates. Surprisingly, no one was there at the gate, as if everyone had abandoned their posts to go out into the city. We soon found ourselves inside headquarters, running for General Mustang's office.

After a few minutes, we ran into a soldier who had a scared look on his face, like he'd seen a ghost. He was disheveled and frantic, "The Fuhrer, the Fuhrer…he's dead!"

Tim grabbed him by the collar, "What are you talking about?"

The man kept repeating it over and over again. Tim let him go, seeing that it was useless to question him any further. He scurried down the hall, disappearing from sight. Tim took out a pistol that had been concealed in his jacket pocket. "I'm going to check on the Fuhrer. You guys go see General Mustang."

"I'm going with you. Better to be together." Ed said, despite mom and dad giving him concerned looks. "Don't worry, I'll stay out of trouble." Ed answered them. Tim and Ed headed for the Fuhrer's office as we went in the direction of Mustang's office.

The halls had an eerie stillness about them. I'd never seen Central so empty. After about ten minutes of going through a maze of hallways, the sound of a woman's crying echoed in the hall. It sounded like Riza! As we rounded the corner, I could see that the doors to Mustang's office were wide open. The sound of the crying got closer… I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

Blood…a tinge of red and deep burgundy stained the floor. Riza's body shook as she grasped the fallen form. Tears streamed down her cheeks incessantly as she looked down at him. Mustang lay in her arms, faint of breath. The wound at his head wouldn't stop bleeding.

His eyes were dazed and unblinking as he stared up at her. A hand rose weakly to touch her cheek, and she immediately clasped it tightly in hers. The words he spoke were only slightly above a whisper, and yet it was the only thing that broke the stillness in the room.

"I love you…Riza…"

She let out a whimper, cradling him in her arms. "I love you too Roy Please I love you I love you please stay…please stay with me…"

He smiled and whispered in shallow breath, "You…called me…Roy."

But before Riza could reply, his eyes became hollow and cold. His head went slack. His body went motionless. "My love…" She touched her lips softly to his, but the warmth did not return to his face.

She bent over him, uncontrollable sobs rising in her throat, until she unleashed a cry of torment that reverberated throughout Central.

All these things happened in an instant even though they seemed like a lifetime. We went to her and attempted to console her, but she wouldn't stop shaking and crying. The bombs and the tremors continued to shake the city. Mom, Elicia, Gracia, Dad, and I huddled around her as she continued to sob, and we all started crying too.

What would happen to us now?

Who would lead Amestris?

I wished that some divine thing would rescue us from our fate. I wished that the future could be clearer than it was…that a safer, better future awaited us. But no such thing appeared in sight. Instead, all I could see was smoke and fire, and the black ships all around us. I felt something strange in me then. Besides fear, I felt like something was coming. Something big was going to happen, something that was going to change our lives forever. I had to get ready. We all had to get ready.


	10. Escapes and Encounters

**Author's Note: **Hope you guys enjoy and Please REVEIW! I wish FMA was real because life is not as simple as equivalent exchange or giving someone 85% of your life (Winry reference). Anyway, **PLEASE REVIEW**!

* * *

_Escapes and Encounters_

* * *

A bullet hole through the window revealed that Mustang had been shot in the head. But there was something off about the angle of the hole. If he'd been sitting in his chair, or even standing, the bullet wouldn't have entered at such a low angle. If it did, it would've hit him in the hip or the leg at least, but definitely not the head.

I wasn't going to say anything though. Riza was crying and shaking non-stop, and mom and Gracia were having a hard time calming her down.

"What are you looking at?" Dad asked, coming to stand by me. I gulped, wondering if I should lie or tell the truth. So I told the partial truth, which is always safer than flat-out lying.

"Um, the bullet hole in the window." I said slowly.

Dad looked at it for a moment, then looked back at Mustang lying on the ground, then looked back at the hole. The same realization must have dawned on him, because I heard him mutter, "Even if he was crouching on the floor, it wouldn't have hit him in the head."

For a moment, I got anxious because I thought that they had overheard us, but they didn't hear a word. Dad put a finger to his mouth like he was shushing me, "We'll talk about this later." But little did I know that later wouldn't come for us, and that this would be the last time for a long time that I'd see my dad.

Suddenly, the airships circling Central headquarters lowered their platforms. I'd never seen such an ominous sight in my life. As soon as the platforms were lowered, men in black medieval armor disembarked. The cold, black metal glinted eerily in the sunlight. They maintained straight, perfect rows, swiftly covering the grounds like a methodical hoard of ants until the headquarters was completely surrounded by them.

"What are you guys standing around for?" I recognized the voice. It was Jean Havoc by the door.

He froze when he saw Mustang lying cold on the floor. The cigarette at his mouth fell and landed on the floor with a silent thud. He bit her lip, and his eyes looked wet and glassy, but he remained serious.

"Breda and Fuery are loading people up onto airships headed north. You guys better come too." He said.

Evacuating? Again? How many times were we going to run? "Doesn't the military have anything to fight them off with?" I yelled.

Havoc cocked an eyebrow at me and picked up his fallen cigarette gingerly, "You've got spirit kid. But if you haven't noticed, no one can perform alchemy and we're seriously outnumbered. Now let's go."

We all gathered together and were about to leave when those men in strange armor appeared at the other end of the hall and called out to us. Havoc was about to stop and fight but dad got between him and the oncoming force, "Havoc, see that my family gets to safety."

Dad was always like that—the heroic type. He had to carry his burdens alone and sacrifice for other people. He always took care of mom, and Ed and I, before ever giving a damn about himself. But at that moment, I hated and loved that part of him at the same time. Loved it because he always wanted the best for us, but hated it because he was sacrificing himself for others, without any thought as to how we might feel about it. So of course, I was naturally opposed to this.

"We're not leaving you here!" Mom and I said at the same time. The armored men were quickly approaching.

Dad took one last look at us, his gold eyes unwavering with almost fearless determination. "Go with Havoc. Don't worry about me. I love you both. Always remember that."

And with that, he showed his back to us. Havoc pulled us along and I felt my feet unwillingly follow the others. I forced myself to look forward but no matter how much I tried to stifle the tears they blurred my vision anyway.

We ran forever it seemed through a winding maze of hallways. Gunshots and explosions sounded in the distance. They seemed to be everywhere, surrounding us. Run, run, run, I kept repeating the words in my head, trying to get the image of the armored men out of my mind.

As we rounded the corner, we ran into Ed and Tim. Havoc almost shot them thinking they were the enemy. All of us screamed.

Ed cringed away from the barrel of the gun pointed at his head, "Yo man, we're not the enemy. Put that thing down." Havoc let out a deep breath and lowered it, the gun trembling nervously in his hand. I had to catch my breath too. I thought Ed was a goner.

Havoc gestured for us to follow once more and said the airships yards weren't far away. Ed and Tim flanked to my right and left as we were running. I didn't like the expression on Tim's face at all. His bronze complexion had a sallow tone to it. He was pale…like he'd seen something horrible. Ed too, had a dark look to him. What had they seen when they went to check on the Fuhrer? What was happening to this country?

At last, we reached the airship yards. Some had already taken off into the cloudy, gray sky. A barricade of Central soldiers were protecting the airship yards as people boarded the ships. And like Havoc had said, Breda and Fuery were hard at work getting people together in an orderly fashion.

We found a nearby airship. The platform was large and the airship was equally huge, towering us by at least 50 feet. Havoc gestured to walk up the platform and into the ship.

Elicia ran inside, her long brown hair and white dress blowing in the breeze. She was nothing like the little girl I'd seen in the picture. She was mature and beautiful. I wondered if I had changed at all from when I was little. Maybe not. I still cried too much.

I used to think that I could never live up to my dad's legacy, and that his legacy was the problem. Everyone expected so much from me…my teachers, my friends. I used to wish that I could change my last name, it had too many expectations attached to it.

But the strange part is that, even though I wished I could change it, I wanted to be just as great an alchemist as my father was. My father…the one who had sacrificed his great alchemy for his brother's life. And now he was sacrificing himself for us again.

As I stood on that platform I felt ashamed. I felt like I could've done more to protect our family. I would never be able to live up to him because I was selfish. I had been so selfish. And now, I was losing him. We were all losing him. I wished that I could rewind time and fight alongside him.

I felt Ed nudge my shoulder, "Sis, what's wrong? And where's dad? Did he say he was coming back soon, 'cause we're leaving."

A shiver ran down my spine, "I don't know, Ed. He told us to go with Havoc while he fought off some guys." Ed was standing behind me, but I didn't want to turn to look at him.

Suddenly, two strong hands gripped my shoulders and turned me around. It was Tim. He didn't say anything. He just looked at me with those sorrowful red eyes of his, his mouth set in a hard line across his face. Was it because he had lost his father too, or was it his understanding look that made me want to cry?

He pulled me into a hug. Ed hugged us too, wrapping his arms around Tim and I, and before I knew it, Mom, Elicia, and Gracia had gathered around too. I wasn't even sure if we'd make it out alive. But having everyone there made me feel safer somehow.

I heard someone clear their throat in the distance. It was Havoc. "This is very touching and all, but we've got to get to hell out of here!" He yelled, pointing at the black ships about to hover over us.

We all ran inside the airship. The platform closed and we entered the main deck, a large space with square windows to look outside. The ship felt shaky as it ascended. I looked outside to see the headquarters shrinking from view and I felt a frantic feeling in my gut. Dad was still there. Somewhere. The booming sound of turbines and the ship quickly accelerating into the clouds disrupted my thoughts.

Ed turned to me with a serious expression on his face, "No matter what happens Liz, we stick together. You got that?" He put his hand out.

Tim smirked and put his hand on Ed's, "Yeah, and I'll keep your crazy brother in line so he doesn't do anything stupid. Like that time you fell in the punch bowl and peed in it."

Ed looked at him with a mix of shock and total annoyance, "I never peed in it! That was just a rumor!"

But Tim kept rubbing it in, "Either way, it was pretty funny." It was hard trying not to laugh. I didn't want to upset Ed, but seeing them like that made me feel happy. They'll never know how grateful I was for it.

I put my hand on theirs, "Ok guys, enough of the jokes. Ed's right. From now on, we all stick together. Wherever one goes, the other follows."

They stopped their childish poking and pushing and looked up at me. Ed grinned cheerily and gave me a thumbs up. Tim kept looking at me like he wanted to say something, but it didn't quite come out. I heard him mutter something unintelligible.

Ed got a devilish smile on his face. He slung his arm around my shoulder like he was about to let me in on something...

"Hey Liz, want to know what's really funny? Tim has a secret he doesn't want you to know. And I'll let you in on it." His voice was all sing-song. Tim's face got all red—a tone that surprisingly matched his eyes—and he stared at Ed threateningly.

"Ed, if you say one word I'll kill you!" He yelled, but Ed merely smirked at him. What was this secret Ed was going on about?

Ed put his lips to my ear. Tim's eyes widened as he whispered, "Tim's got a crush on-"

But Ed didn't even have a chance to finish because Tim put him in a headlock and dragged him off to the corner. All I heard was Ed yelling, "Ok! Ok! I'll keep your secret if you stop choking me!"

A loud announcement sounded throughout the entire ship:

"We're heading for Briggs, up North. General Armstrong is unfortunately not with us, as she is leading the troops in Central. But General Miles is filling in for now. No airships are following us. We're safe for now."

A collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the crowd. Even Havoc, who seemed to be the most on-edge, breathed a sigh of relief. I almost jumped when I saw mom standing next to me. She'd been so quiet. I hadn't even realized that she was there. The expression on her face was grim and blonde tendrils escaped her messy bun. Looking at her made me realize that I wasn't the only nervous wreck. But nevertheless, she smiled warmly.

"He valued our lives above his own. It's not easy, but we have to be patient. No matter what, your has dad always comes back. Have faith in him." She patted me on the back.

Gracia called out—something about Riza—and she ran off to help. Next thing I knew, Gracia, mom, and Elicia were helping Riza to the upstairs level where there were beds and cabins.

* * *

_In the largest Cretian airship back at Central..._

"The only reason why we're keeping you alive is because you know how this nation is run. You know how the people of this country are, and what they respond to…" King Alexander of Creta sat in his high throne with a bored expression on his face. The pitiful form of the handcuffed man below him was held down by two guards.

He could kill him so easily if he wanted to. It would've been a pleasure to see his bloody entrails spilled across the floor. The only reason why the man wasn't dead was because his son had spoken logic into him. The only logical person in the family he supposed. He definitely DID NOT get that trait from him.

The King was a tall, handsome man of 50 years old. His shoulders were broad and the silky lion-skin cape he wore showed this off very well. His long red hair was in a braid that went down to his waist, and he had pale skin. He was a man of lean build, with a ruggedly handsome face—perplexing violet eyes that were thoughtful and wicked, a thin nose, a small mouth, and a pointy chin.

When he was younger, some had said that he could pull off being a girl. But he had grown to be as majestic and handsome as a statesman, the man everyone had wanted him to be, but he was also 10X more dangerous and destroyed everything he touched. Only his son could reign him in…sometimes.

The man looked up—Roy Mustang looked up. He was still breathing heavy. When he awoke, the guards had beat him up. His face was scarred with scratches and it felt like a rib or two was broken, but he didn't complain. In fact, he hadn't said a word. He wasn't about to lose face now. He still had a duty to his country, whether he was a captive or not...

All he remembered was being in his office when he saw the Cretian ships enclosing around the city. He had phoned Riza in her office, and was about to run out to meet her and check on the Fuhrer, when there was a flash of light.

When the light faded, a beautiful, slender woman stood before him. She had long black hair and facial features nearly identical to Lust...at least, she looked like Lust, but with subtle differences—flatter chest, blue eyes, and skin way paler than the Lust he'd known. He almost froze at the sight of her, thinking that Lust had really come back to life, when he noticed the Cretian seal of two dragons embroidered into the chest part of her long, black strapless gown.

"I've always wanted to meet the famed hero of Ishval." Her seductive voice gave him the chills, and not in a good way.

Mustang was about to snap flames at her when he felt his arm go stiff as if by some magic. His whole body went stiff. He couldn't move a muscle and struggling was futile. The Sorceress smiled darkly, and walked a circle around him like she was surveying her prey.

"What's your name witch?" Mustang said through gritted teeth.

"That's so rude. I'm offended you would call me such a thing. For a minute, I was finding you quite the handsome man. I'm jealous that the King wants you all to himself." She said in mock disappointment.

"Who are you?" Mustang demanded again.

He was trying to get flames to come out of his hand but nothing happened. He should be able to do alchemy no matter what. The Sorceress caught sight of his confused expression and laughed.

"Your idiotic alchemy won't work. I've disabled it. Look outside love." She turned Mustang around to see the blue transmutation circle hovering above Central, its blue light washing over the city. How in the world had she managed to disable alchemy?

"And it's not just you dear, so don't think you're special. No one can perform alchemy." She said with finality, and turned him back around to face her. Mustang felt a knot of fear growing in his stomach. What would happen to his men and to Central? He needed answers.

"I'll ask again. Who are you? And what are you planning to do with my country?" He asked, seriously.

This time the woman didn't laugh. She stared at him with a serious gaze of her own. "People call me 'The Sorceress.' And your country is no longer your concern. The King will decide what happens to this country from now on."

And with those words, he suddenly felt a fierce pain in his gut. As his vision blurred, he looked down in slow motion to see that the Sorceress had punched him. But it wasn't just that. A black aura was radiating from her fist. His whole body felt groggy and slowed on impact, like his life force was being drained.

Before he blacked out, he heard her say, "The energy inside you…it's not like the other alchemists I've drained. It's invigorating, your life force…you've used the philosopher's stone, haven't you?"

And now he was prostrated before the King, in that strange hell-hole of a place, trying to grasp every detail around him.

He was on an airship, in a vast room that was a mixture of a throne room and a pilot's deck. The King sat in his silver high chair, flanked by his son, Prince Kane on the right, and the Sorceress on the left. Mustang himself was prostrated on a long red carpet, like the kind you see in leading up to the throne in fairytales. On the other side of the room were the pilots and controls.

Prince Kane, a handsome young man of 18 who had short red hair but looked like a miniature of his father, stepped before Mustang. His eyes had slightly more compassion in them, "Both you and the Fuhrer are our prisoners. Answer our questions and we won't harm you. Oh yes, and don't think about escaping. Everyone thinks you're dead anyway."

Mustang felt relieved. The Fuhrer was still alive. But him, dead? He wasn't dead. As if to answer his question, the Sorceress sauntered over to Mustang and gently lifted his chin to meet her gaze. Tendrils of her black hair hit his face.

"You should've seen the expression on your girl friend's face. She wouldn't let go of your dead body for nothin'. Your friends had to drag her away. It was truly pathetic. You humans are such fools." Her voice was low and seductive. But the pain Mustang felt just then was far worse than a few broken ribs.

The King laughed, "While I love seeing emotional pain, are you sure we can't torture this one?"

"Not yet father. Unless of course, he doesn't give us the vital information regarding the stone." The Prince answered.

Roy's eyes widened. The stone? That's right, the Sorceress had mentioned it earlier... He figured he'd wait. They weren't going to kill him after all. Maybe he still had time to figure out their plan. And there were far worse things to think about. Riza thought he was dead. His heart throbbed in his chest, probably the way Riza had felt when she laid eyes on the cadaver she mistook to be him.

The Sorceress smirked when she saw the fire in his eyes. She loved fire. It was her favorite element to use. The urge to suck his life force was overwhelming, but she resisted it. To her surprise, Mustang remained quiet.

"You have nothing to say? Don't worry, I made sure the cadaver looked and sounded exactly like you. I even said, "I love you" to make it real enough." The Sorceress said.

Mustang spit in her face and she backed away in repulsion. Prince Kane gestured for the guards to take him away. As he was being dragged to the stairs to that led to the lower prison level, he overheard them.

"Bring in the next prisoner." The Prince called out to the departing guards.

They walked down the narrow aisle, a jail cell on each side. It was dark and the air was damp. Each cell was the size of a large cubicle, containing a miserable prisoner clothed in cloth rags. Some looked back at Mustang meanly, while others slept or cowered in the shadows in fear. Steam came out of multiple vents. It filled the air with a sulfurous-smelling vapor that clung to everything and filled the cells with mist. The guards opened a nearby room that looked like a janitor's closet and forced him to undress. The blue uniform and all of its badges of honor were stripped, and replaced with a thin white tunic that reached his knees and dirty, white pants.

A prison cell was opened and the guards threw him in carelessly. Roy landed headfirst into a stagnant puddle on the floor and the guards laughed. As he found his place on a thin mattress of straw, he looked up to see a face he thought he'd never see.

"Is this good times or what?" Edward Elric said with a small smile. He sat in the corner of the cell, almost near the mattress. He also wore the same rags.

Mustang's face lit up, but Ed gave him a warning look not to say to much. Mustang smirked, "Yeah. Life's just peachy. But I guess I've been through worse."

"I know exactly how you feel." Ed replied. The two gave a knowing, secret smile to one another. The guard rolled his eyes and snatched Ed by the collar. Mustang got up to help him, but Ed waved his hand to stop.

"Yur the next pris'ner the Prince be wantin' to see." The guard said, handcuffing Ed and leading him out of the cell.

"Why does the Prince want to see me? And please, speak English this time." Ed said.

"Did me ears deceive me, or tort' he gettin' frisky?" The crony guard snickered to the other guard.

Ed looked at them both like they were idiots. How the hell had he gotten into this mess? Oh right, the Cretian punks had called reinforcements and overtaken him.

"The King call fer yur exper' opinion. 'Cause yur the exper' on the philosophs' stone."

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**PLEASE REVIEW!  
**


	11. Flashback

Author's Note Below Please Read!

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_Flashback_

* * *

Roy Mustang discreetly grabbed the slip of paper from the informant, and slipped it into his trouser pocket. The hallways had an eerie stillness about them, but Mustang couldn't quite place why. Everything seemed relatively normal...as normal as it could be with a war going about. State alchemists and soldiers hurried past him like usual, probably on their way to missions or to be de-briefed. He felt a giddy kind of anxiousness, like butterflies in his stomach. He couldn't wait to read what was in that note. By now, it was their only hope.

He went into his office, shut the door, and after waiting a few moments to make sure no one interrupted him, took the letter out. He was almost in awe that the note had remained so neat, despite having traveled thousands of miles across land and sea to him. It read:

"_It is a two days journey to the Imperial Palace. But thanks to May's expertise and the forces you have provided me with, I'm sure we will make it there sooner. Emperor Ling is expecting us. I have sent messengers to alert him of our arrival. Hopefully, he can amass an army in time to stop the Cretians. Xing is a large continent, his army is great and can help us. I will send word of all further developments. Best of luck to you and all my friends in Central. Give my regards to Ed, Winry, and the kids if you see them._

_Godspeed,_

_Alfonse Elric"_

Mustang sighed as he slumped into his desk chair and stared up at the ceiling. There had to be hope somewhere in this mess. If Ling could assemble an army to stop the Cretians, maybe Amestris could be saved. But could Alfonse do it in time? Was it too late to save Amestris? Suddenly, there were two sharp knocks at the door.

"May I come in, sir?"

It was Riza's voice. Roy felt slightly relieved as he called her in. She closed the door. Seeing the tired look on his face, she paused before putting some files on his desk.

"I have some paperwork here regarding the invasion of Dublith. List of casualties…and the current status quo there. I can handle it if you're not well, sir."

Roy tried to fake a smile, "What are you talking about? I'm feeling perfectly fine."

Riza looked at him slyly, "Something bad is going to happen soon, isn't it? Have you been listening to the radio?" Riza turned on the radio on his desk. Gurgled static gave way to a full-scale news report.

"_Rush Valley was once the automail capital of the world, but the city's industries have suffered massive hits due to mass migrations out of the city in light of approaching Cretain forces. More than 1,000 people have left the city, or are planning to leave. We spoke to a mechanic, Mr. Garfiel who owns a shop here: 'All my clients have left. And many families that have lived here for generations are just picking up and leaving for the North or Xing.'_

_Another refugee remarked: 'I just want to protect my family. When conflict broke out in Liore we came here, and now there's threat of another conflict? How can we ever have peace if there's always war?' The military reports over 1,000 casualties in Dublith and at the Cretian front, but estimates are predicted to be higher. This is RVP radio, reporting to you from Rush Valley."_

"There's never good news on the radio. Here." Mustang flicked Riza the note Alfonse had written.

"This is top secret information from Alfonse in Xing. I sent him there weeks ago, with Olivier's brother, General Armstrong, serving as his protective escort. We're also strengthening our defensive and offensive strategies in Central just in case of attack."

Her eyes widened as she skimmed in. If it meant what she thought it meant, Roy was planning for war WITHOUT the Fuhrer's consent.

"What about the Fuhrer? He instructed you to handle evacuations ONLY." Riza said.

Mustang furrowed his brows in frustration. The old man had done nothing but delay and put off. He once had the mental faculties capable of making decisions, but now that was gone. Someone more capable had to step in his place.

"The Fuhrer would approve of this. We can't stand by and let them invade!" He yelled. He used a rougher tone of voice than he planned.

Riza put the paper down and stared at him straight in the eyes. It started out as a test. If he flinched, she would judge his resolve to be weak. But as he stared back with those unwavering, coal-black eyes, the same eyes that he had stared at with Lust, she knew that he would not back down.

He didn't flinch. She sighed and walked over to the window. The sky was a dreary gray, with billowing tall clouds that rolled across the horizon. "I once said I'd follow you no matter what."

Her words left a silence that permeated the space, and he felt unnerved by this. Was Riza taking back her promise? Mustang arose from his chair to stand by her side at the window. Almost hesitantly he asked, "Does that promise still stand? If you believe my judgments to be mistaken, then say so."

She turned to him, eyes determined and just as unwavering as his, "Whatever you plan to do General, I'll be right there with you. I'll protect you until my dying breath."

"It's only because of you and everyone else that I've had the courage to go this far. Thank you." Roy said, meeting her passionate gaze with one of his own.

He looked into her vivid blue eyes, and all at once the memories of the years spent together came back to him like a flood. Even if he didn't touch her, just looking at her satiated some deep longing in him. He wanted to always be able to look into her eyes like this…to ensure that she was safe and that he could always protect her. He wished she wasn't so willing to throw her life away for him. She returned his gaze and for a few moments, their eyes were locked on one another, both yearning to move closer but seeming so far away.

At last, Riza looped her arms around his neck and smiled, "Close your eyes General Mustang. Seriously."

He almost wanted to laugh. It was like they were young cadets again, everything so awkward and new. Her lips touched his softly at first, tasting like a sweet forbidden fruit. When he heard her breath caught, he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned into him, allowing herself to be pulled into his strong embrace. She didn't want to let go. She wished she never had to let go.

"So, you're still going to tell the Fuhrer about your plans, right?" Riza muttered after a long while of kissing.

Roy groaned, "Fine, I'll tell him…but let's just keep doing what we're doing right now."

Riza withdrew and gave Roy a warning look, "Just go and tell him! I'll always be here, you know." She winked.

Roy withdrew hesitantly and tousled his hair anxiously before grabbing Alfonse's note and heading for the door. He paused for a second in front of the door and turned back, his mouth agape about to make some excuse, but Riza reassured him, "Don't worry, I'll handle some of the paperwork and postpone any meetings you have today."

Roy held up a finger as if to correct her, "There's one meeting I want you to keep open. It's the one with Edward Elric. He wants to discuss some alkhestry technology the Cretians are using that somehow affects Alchemic reactions."

Riza nodded, "Alright, I'll keep the meeting open. Be on your way, sir."

"And Riza?"

"Yes?"

"I...I love you. Wish me luck." With those last words, Roy slipped out the door and disappeared down the winding halls in a flash.

Riza smiled, hearing his footsteps echo and fade away down the hall. She wanted to run to the door and scream down the hall for the whole world to know the euphoria in her heart. But instead, she looked at the stacks of paper before her and the grand desk on which they sat, and said, "General Roy Mustang, I've loved you ever since the day I met you."

* * *

_End of Flashback_

Fuery and Havoc stood with the group on the Cabin Deck of the ship. The silence on the deck was slightly unnerving, but with everything that had just happened, they didn't expect many words to be shared at that moment. The airship itself was barely out of Central. They were using the dense clouds as cover to make an escape from the Cretian airships. But still, they weren't out of harm's way yet, Fuery thought. As if to answer his thought, sirens blared piercingly and the ship careened to the side sharply. Screams vibrated down the corridors as panic rose throughout the Cabin Deck.

"They're back! We're all gonna die!" A man screamed from down the corridor.

Outside the cabin windows, the group spotted a black flying ship hovering above the clouds. The black airship's guns were clearly exposed and another round of fire assaulted the ship. Once more, the jolt sent everyone off their feet.

Havoc turned to Winry, Liz, Ed, Tim, and everyone, "I have to go see the captain NOW!" He dashed out of sight.

Fuery tried to calm down the mass of people running about and screaming throughout the Cabin, but it was too late. Hysteria had already set in.

Tim turned to Fuery, "It's not going to be okay, is it?"

Fuery looked at Tim with uncertainty, as though debating whether or not to tell him the truth. Tim sensed his hesitation and spoke quickly, "I've been through military training before sir, I know a bad situation when I see one. What can I do to help?"

Fuery was reluctant at first, but Tim's calm demeanor made him think about taking up his offer. Finally, he acquiesced. "I want you to handle the situation here! Keep people calm and put them back in their cabins. We need to keep things under control!" Fuery sped off in the direction of the Captain's Deck, leaving Tim, Ed, Liz, and the group to handle the chaos below.

Tim, Ed, Liz, Winry, and everyone looked at one another. "Let's make this a group effort! There's 7 of us, three go down that hall, and four go the other way. See you back in a bit!" Winry exclaimed.

Gracia, Elicia, Winry, and Ed went together one way, while Tim, Riza, and Liz ran in the opposite direction.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay behind, Riza?" Tim asked, flashing back to the memory of Riza's crumpled form over Mustang.

Riza took out the loaded pistol from her back pocket and threw it lithely at Tim who fumbled to catch it at first. "You know how to use a gun, cadet?"

"Yes." Tim gulped.

"Then keep up and don't get in my way! I have a feeling we won't be alone much longer. And…what you saw back in Central...don't mention it again you hear me! Payback is gonna be a bitch when I get my hands on the Cretian bastards who did this." With that, she sped down the hall, Tim and Liz struggling to keep up at first.

They started little by little, reassuring whoever they encountered on the way. Although the ship continued to lurch violently at times, the mood of panic began to dissipate a little as people retreated to their cabins for safety.

"I wonder how mom and Ed are doing." Liz thought aloud.

"I'm sure they're fine, doing the same thing we are." Tim answered. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the ship again. Another jolt, this time more forceful than ever, sent them flying against the wall.

Tim held his pounding head as he got up, "Liz, are you okay?" Liz stabled herself against a crate before the impact. Her and Riza got up with minimal damage, but a young woman nearby who had hit her head against the wall didn't get up. Riza ran to her. The sirens blared louder than before.

"The EAST SIDE HAS BEEN HIT! ALL MECHANIC PERSONNEL GET THE ENGINE ROOM NOW!" The loudspeaker screamed.

Riza looked up at Liz, alarmed. "Your mom and brother were on that side of the ship."

Liz felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that grounded her where she stood. The words could barely escape her mouth as her throat tightened up, a sense of urgency and panic washing over her.

Tim touched her shoulder and looked at her worried face, "I'll go with you. Let's go make sure they're okay."

Riza nodded, "I'll stay with this young woman. I need to find her medical attention. Go quickly and find them! And both of you, good luck."

Liz thanked Riza, and started to run with Tim back towards where they had come from. As they ran, Tim felt the urgency to say something to her, something he had wanted to say to her ever since they reunited in Dublith. But he figured he'd wait until after they found everyone, it wasn't the right time to share his feelings. The only problem was...if the next air strike killed them, he probably wouldn't have a chance to say anything to her. It took a long while of deliberating and talking to himself before he decided to break the silence.

"Liz, I have to tell you something." Tim said suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Liz asked.

"Well, I've been thinking I need to tell you this for a while and-" before he could finish, the metal wall next to them was suddenly blasted apart, exposing the sky outside. The vacuum sucked Liz and Tim out of the air craft and into the sky outside. Tim grabbed onto a piece of metal still attached to the ship and with his other hand grabbed Liz just in time before she was pulled by the vortex.

* * *

** Author's Note:** If anyone is still reading this fanfiction, please let me know/review. I was unsure if there was anyone still reading. Letting me know there is still an audience for the fanfiction will give me the energy to save it. Thanks.


	12. Walking into the Unknown

**Author's Note: **Thanks so much to anyone who's still reading or has written a review! Please keep reading in the future and thanks! Life is pretty busy for me, as it probably is for you, but please continue to check for updates and continue reading. Thanks and as always, good luck!

* * *

_Walking into the Unknown_

* * *

She pointed the gun at his back, her aim unwavering. She wished she wasn't such a straight shooter, "Colonel, you have to stop. I can't allow you to do this to yourself."

"If you're going to shoot me, then shoot me. But let me ask you this: after you shoot me, what do you intend to do Lieutenant?"

She looked at the ground and gave him her honest answer, "Of course, I have no intention of remaining in this world after you leave. I said I would follow you anywhere. This will be last mission and I will take my life, extinguishing the secrets of flame alchemy forever."

A horrid feeling lurched in the pit of his stomach when she said that. He couldn't bring himself to carry on his vengeful madness any longer. Oh how badly he wanted to scorch that green ugly creature that cowered in Ed's hands into ashes! But with one final scream he sent a wave of flames went down the corridor, leaving with them the last of his vengeful resolve.

He turned to Riza, tears forming in her eyes, and placed a hand on the barrel of the gun, lowering it. Riza felt her hands ache slightly, like the gun suddenly had more weight to it.

"I've done it again, haven't I? I've hurt you… How long can one man be such a fool?"

Riza replayed the memory in her head, remembering her answer to Roy and feeling that she should make good on her word soon. _After I've ensured the Elrics' safe passage to Briggs, I'll join you. At least in death, we'll finally be together._

"Riza! Riza!" A voiced pierced through her thoughts.

Riza looked up in a daze to see Winry, Ed, Gracia, and Elicia all huddled around her with worried expressions on their faces.

"We've been calling you for like three minutes, are you okay?" Gracia asked, trying to feel Riza's forehead with her hand.

Riza pushed her hand away and nodded, putting on her usual composed demeanor. "I'm fine. Where's Tim and Liz?" _Get it together Riza, or they'll think you're going crazy or worse…they'll find out about the plan... _

"I thought they were with you! We went towards the east side of the ship but were turned away before the explosion." Winry said, becoming panicked.

Riza felt her resolve coming back to her. She couldn't allow any more people to fall victim to the Cretians. If she couldn't save Mustang, the least she could do was save her friends and anyone else who needed her. Riza looked at the unconscious young woman she had propped up against the wall.

"Please look after this woman and stay here. I'll go find them."

"Not alone. I'm going with you." Ed volunteered.

Winry was reluctant to let him go at first, and Riza was too, but he was a strong young man after all, and she could probably use his help.

"Only if your mother lets you go." Riza said.

"Mom?"

Winry sighed, "Fine, but please be careful!"

"I will, don't worry!" And with one last reassuring look to his mother, Ed and Riza disappeared down the hall.

Winry bit her lip nervously. Why did her children always insist on leaving her side? First it was Eliza insisting on going to college in Dublith. Then it was Ed Jr. going all the way up to Briggs to learn about cold weather automail and god knows what else.

"_Calm down Winry, they're just trying to find themselves and pave their own paths. Like we did, remember?" _She imagined Ed's words of reassurance.

It wasn't the first time he'd spoken those words to her, but she wished he was there right then to say it again. She felt a strange feeling come upon her, or perhaps it was just a fear unraveling itself from the deepest depths of her heart…the fear that she was losing time with Ed and Liz, the fear that her children would leave her side forever, the fear that her beloved husband was dead and never coming back, the fear of loneliness again.

Winry felt a hand squeeze her shoulder, "Don't worry Winry, they'll be okay." Elicia smiled at the older woman, seeing the worry in her eyes.

"Thanks. I hope so." She murmured.

* * *

The winds lashed at Eliza's face. At that instant, she felt Tim's grip on her hand tighten. He looked at her with reassuring eyes, "I won't let you go! Just hold on. I'll try to pull us up!"

Liz nodded, her eyes getting wet from the wind's constant assault. Tim tried to pull them up with his other hand, which was still holding onto the metal part attached to the ship, when suddenly they heard a loud tearing screech. Tim looked up to see that the metal part had torn from the ship even more. At this rate, with their combined body weight, it wouldn't support them much longer.

Tim looked down at Liz and his automail legs, when suddenly a realization dawned on him. _My automail legs are the heaviest thing here. If I keep holding on, we'll both die..._

"Tim, what did you want to tell me?"

But Tim didn't hear her, focusing on the metal plank that was threatening to break. Suddenly, he got an idea. He grabbed Liz's hand more tightly, and with all of his might pulled her up so that she was beside him holding onto the metal plank with both hands. She felt the plank quiver from the movement.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked, confused.

She saw that there was sadness in his eyes, but his mouth was fixed into a grin. "This beam still has enough strength to hold one person."

Liz was confused at first, "One person? What do you mean we're…wait, you're not thinking of doing what I think you're doing!"

"My legs are too heavy, it's weighing us down."

"No! If you let go, I let go!"

"Eliza, stop being unreasonable!"

"What ever happened to 'wherever one goes, the other follows?' You remember that?" Liz asked.

"That's not fair, using my own words against me." Tim smirked.

"Don't do it Tim. All of us, your mother, we all care about you. Someone could be here at any moment to help us." Liz said hopefully.

Tim smiled at her persistent optimism, his mind flashing back to the days long past when he had lost his father. He never thought he'd be able to find that love and companionship again, but then the Elrics came into his life. They gave him automail legs, a second home, and two best friends: Liz and Ed. He had always concealed his true feelings about everything, thinking that by being stoic, he would somehow be invulnerable to the world and its pain. But now, in what could be his last hour, he saw how stupid all that had been. He wasn't being strong, he was hiding from the world, his friends, and even himself.

Tears welled up in Liz's eyes, "Tim…please, you can't do this."

_Enough hiding. I need to tell her the truth about my feelings. Before it's all over. _

"Eliza, I don't want your death on my conscience. I wasn't able to save my father, but I can save you."

Emboldened by his determination, he wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her close to him so that they were only inches apart. Liz felt the warmth of his embrace. Although it made her uneasy at first, it also felt unusually comfortable. What was making him act like this? She wondered.

"Liz, I've been hiding something from you for a long time now. When we met again back in Dublith, I realized that I've always loved you. I've loved you since the day you and your family welcomed me into your home. Please, tell me you feel the same way."

Love? She felt a strange feeling in her stomach, like butterflies rising up in her chest. And there was the matter of her attraction to him, which she'd felt ever since she ran into him back at Dublith. But love? Her mind was racing.

_What should I say? I remember when he dated girls in high school. I mean, this is TIM! Heartbreaker, Flirt, the kind of guy who moves from one relationship to the next. And he's like my best friend! I can't date a guy who's like a brother to me. _One voice spoke in her head.

_But we're not little kids anymore. And even though he moved quickly in high school, he never acted that way with me. What if he's really being genuine? _Another voice chimed in. Whatever the case, she couldn't keep thinking forever!

"Tim, I..."

He wasn't sure if what he saw in her eyes was uncertainty or longing. The warm blush on her face made her lips flush pink and inviting. He leaned in to kiss her when...

"HEY THERE!"

A sturdy rope extended out to them and they looked up to see Ed, who returned a look of curiosity at the scene. "Hey guys…was I interrupting something just now?"

Tim coughed more loudly than normal and took his hand off of Liz's waist quickly. Liz shook her head nervously, "No, Ed. We're fine. Just hanging out. We're so glad you're here." She said.

"Yeah, wonderful timing." Tim said sarcastically. Ed couldn't shake the feeling that they were hiding something.

"Can you pull them in already before the metal breaks!" Havoc yelled at Ed. Further inside, they spotted Riza, Havoc, and Fuery holding onto the rope too.

Whatever happened between them, Ed couldn't think on it now. "Grab the rope and we'll pull you inside!"He instructed. Tim and Liz grabbed the rope. Ed gave the signal to pull.

"Alright, 1…2…3!" Havoc sounded off, and with a few strenuous heaves Tim and Liz were finally back inside the airship. Once inside, Riza, Havoc, and Fuery brought them further down the hall to a calm area, away from the damaged part of the ship.

Liz and Tim sat up against the wall panting for air. Suddenly, the captain's voice spoke loudly over the intercom:

"The Cretian bastards has gone back towards Central! We're free everybody! The ship has officially left Central! We're making a pit stop in New Optain, thirty minutes from now. The ship has suffered some massive damage and needs some repairs before casting off to Briggs. For now, I urge any alchemists on board who can assist with repairs to please report to the cockpit! Thanks! All personnel please conduct a sweep of the ship as well!"

Liz got up upon hearing the call for alchemists. She felt too nervous to look Tim directly in the eye, knowing she hadn't exactly given an answer. "I'm going to the cockpit to help out."

"I'll go with you." Tim said, getting up unsteadily. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in one of his legs and grimaced.

"It's alright. But are you okay, though?" She asked, looking at Tim as he leaned up against the wall with a pained expression on his face. He tried to shrug it off, but Ed saw through his facade.

"No, he's not." Ed said, lifting up on of Tim's pant legs to reveal that the cable wiring giving his legs spring had been corrupted and broken in some parts. There was a stream of blood originating from his hip, making Ed think that the scar tissue around the automail's insertion point had been wounded as well.

"The automail was probably weighing down his body a lot, what with gravity and all. We're gonna have to take the automail off and repair it, and bandage up any re-opened scars too. When we reach New Optain, we have to do it right away." Ed said.

Riza was relieved that she had saved them in time, but saw the urgency of the situation, "You and Fuery take him back to the cabin. Havoc, Eliza, and I will go to the cockpit and conduct sweeps."

"Yes ma'am!" Fuery and Havoc said. With that, they each departed their own ways.

Tim looked at Eliza briefly, wishing he knew what she was thinking. When she felt his stare on her, she looked up and he looked away. She felt the urge to say something to him and he wanted to say something too, but the right words seemed to escape them. Instead, they looked away and sputtered out awkwardly, "Bye." "See ya." at the same time, and went about their separate ways.

Tim watched her walk away and wanted to hit his head against the wall. _That's all you could think to say? See ya? I'm such an idiot! What if she hates me now? Why didn't I just keep my mouth shut? _

Liz kept her eyes forward as she walked with Havoc and Riza. It was all she could do to keep from looking back and feeling guilt. _He told you he loved you and all you could say was "Bye?" I'm such an idiot! What if he hates me now?_

* * *

…**Back in the Throne Room of the Cretian Airship Palace…**

"Do you realize what you've done by letting the airship escape? Now the sacrifice has gotten away!" King Alexander's voice boomed throughout the throne room. Even the guards nearby who heard it cowered in fear.

Kane kneeled on the ground before his father, enduring the man's onslaught, "Please forgive me father, I will never let it happen again. The airship left the city limits, which is where the Sorceress' transmutation circle ends. I didn't want to risk going into uncharted territory, should the Amestrians realize that they can use their alchemy."

A twisted smile played on the King's lips. "Meaning you didn't want to risk our men's lives? It's such a shame. If Eric were alive, he never would have let them escape. He wasn't soft like you. He was a true warrior. You were always a disappointment to me Prince Kane."

Kane clenched his fists. He hated when his father compared him to his dead brother. How could he compete with a deceased paragon of perfection?

Kane couldn't hide the hint of anger in his voice, "But Father, I have done everything you asked! I even sent a party to Xing to capture the other Elric brother!"

In his wrath, the King got up and grabbed the sword from his side. Unsheathing it with almost lightening speed, Kane looked up to see the tip of the blade almost touch the bridge of his nose. Kane froze but was unblinking, as he looked up at his raging father.

"Do not make me use this blade against you son. You must always act with discipline and urgency, and when you see the enemy, strike him down without a second thought! I should not have to tell you this." King Alexander said blatantly, sheathing his sword.

Kane suddenly felt the error of his ways, and bowed his head deeply. "Forgive me for my foolishness. I will do whatever you ask me to do."

"Yes dear King, please give him one more chance." A seductive, chilly voice spoke from behind Kane. They looked up to see the Sorceress saunter into the throne room.

The king sat in his throne chair and looked bored once again, "I have another task for you Prince Kane. You are to find a man named Dr. Marcoh in New Optain, and bring him to me. A ship has been prepared for you."

"Why are we going to the trouble of finding a doctor? Don't we have doctors here?" Kane asked, standing now.

Kane felt the Sorceress' hand on his shoulder and shrugged away from her uneasily. Just being around her gave him the chills, despite the fact she was his father's ally. Something about her made him feel uneasy. She found his discomfort amusing and smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't ruin that handsome face of yours. This particular doctor is actually an alchemist. And he is crucial for re-creating the human transmutation circle that once surrounded this country. He will tell us all we need to know."

Kane looked at her, perplexed, "Human transmutation circle?"

"Just do your job and be off deary. The grown ups have something to discuss." The Sorceress waved her hand.

Kane turned to his father and bowed, "I promise I will not let you down this father." With those words, he left the throne room. When they were sure they were both alone, the king ordered his guards to leave, leaving him and the Sorceress alone.

They walked up to a gigantic round window that overlooked Central City below. The fires were beginning to snuff out, and clouds of dust and smoke hovered over the city, turning it gray.

"Has Roy Mustang and Edward Elric said anything about the sacrifice or the philosopher's stone?" The king asked.

"No, they're very strong-willed. Despite being tortured, they haven't given up. Men with such strong wills are rare in this world. I almost admire it." The Sorceress said, feigning fondness as she looked at her perfectly manicured nails. There was a slight scratch on one of them and she frowned.

"Then, break their will Sorceress. Use your dark magic, crystal dust, whatever it is to probe their minds! I am tired of waiting!" The king yelled.

The Sorceress looked up disapprovingly, "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, you must be more patient and cooperative in order for this relationship to work." At that instant, the king felt his whole body go numb and still, so that he couldn't even wiggle his fingers or toes.

"What have you done to me, you wench!" He yelled, but then she whispered a few words and cast a spell that made his tongue freeze in place as well.

"You're lucky I haven't stopped your breathing, Alexander. You don't seem to remember that I knew you before you had all of this!" She gestured to the elaborate throne room and exquisite décor.

She stood close to him so that they were almost nose to nose, and smiled darkly at him, "You see, my dear Alex, I remember when were you a penniless pauper boy on the street wearing rags. How badly you wanted to be your twin brother on the throne, and not the bastard your father despised!"

She went on, "I made you who you are today, so never forget that. I will conduct the interrogation how I please, and you will never use that tone of voice with me again. Do you understand? For if you do, I will destroy you and your world just as easily as I created it."

She turned from him with her nose high in the air and walked out of the room. When she left, he felt her deathly grasp leave him and he returned to normal. He panted for air as he fell to the ground, and for once in a long time, he actually felt scared.

* * *

…**New Optain…**

As the ship landed in New Optain, medical personnel and state alchemists stood on the fringes of the landing base. As the airship plank went down, and hordes of people began rushing out of the airship, they were quartered off into risk and high-risk areas. High risk patients were loaded onto stretchers and taken to the hospital immediately, while risk patients were treated on the spot. Tim was loaded onto a stretcher and sent to the hospital, having passed out from his injury. Ed opted to go with him, while Riza, Eliza, Winry, Elicia, and Gracia stayed behind.

"We should find a hotel for the night. In light of the circumstances, I'm sure they'll let us stay for free." Riza said.

They all agreed and after getting directions from one of the state alchemists, walked into town under the dark night sky to the nearest hotel. Elicia and Eliza sat down in the waiting room, while the older women persuaded the hotel manager to let them stay.

Elicia smiled at Liz, "So, what's going on between you and Tim?"

"Tim and I are just friends Elicia, you know that. Besides, I just hope he's okay." Liz said, trying to hide the slight blush on her face.

"But I saw the way you two looked at each other, at least, the way he looked at you." Elicia smiled, swooping her long auburn hair over her shoulders. Elicia was the woman practically every woman wanted to be. Beautiful, petite, sensual, lady-like, and at only 27 years old too.

"How did he look at me?" Liz asked, perplexed.

"You're not very good with men, are you?" Elicia laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liz asked, slightly offended.

"It's alright. Us girls need to have a chat with no boys and old people around. Tomorrow, we're going to spend the day together and talk more about this!" Elicia said.

At that moment, they heard one of the doors slam from upstairs. They looked up at the staircase that led up to the hotel rooms and saw a man coming down the steps. He was covered in a beige cloak and ducked his head as he went down the stairs, but when he spotted Eliza in the waiting room his head perked up, revealing a black head of hair, scars that disfigured his face, and smile.

"Well this is quite a surprise, seeing so many familiar faces in one place…" The man said.

Elicia turned and instantly recognized the man. At that point, Winry and the others recognized the familiar voice as well.

"Dr. Marcoh!"

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